Hourglass
by LettersFromHome
Summary: With the Phoenix gone, the war appears to be over. Two new students arrive at the school, one with vague visions of a deadly threat looming, one which is too much for even the XMen to overcome. RogueAngel, KittyPiotr, StormLogan, OCxOC.
1. I: New Arrival

**Chapter 1: New Beginning**

**By J.D. K'ller**

"Logan," Storm called, striding down the hallway towards him, "we have a new student waiting in the Danger Room. Would you mind going down there and finding out what his powers are?"

"Listen, Storm," he replied angrily, using the name she used when on a mission, "how many times have I told you, I am not babysitting some little kids just 'cause you don't feel like it."

"Logan!" she retaliated angrily, "Get down to the Danger Room and find out what the kid's powers and limits are. And, by the way," she continued as he opened his mouth to argue further, "if one of the new kids blows you up, you can heal from it. I can't, so deal with it!" Saying what she had to say, she stormed off, aggravated by yet another conversation with the stubborn man.

"Women!" Logan said under his breathe, awed once again by her fury. _All she had to do was ask nicely_, he thought, heading towards the elevator that would take him to the Danger Room.

XXX

"Alright kid," Logan said loudly as he entered the Danger Room. Before entering he had taken off his outer shirt, watch and wallet. He figured there was no sense in inviting the new mutants to destroy what few valuables he had. "Name, age and a demonstration of powers," he said just as loudly, addressing the teenage boy standing with his clasped in front of him in the center of the Danger Room.

"My name is Corey Aldred. I'm fifteen. And I'm telling you, just like I told that woman, I won't tell you my powers," he said, crossing his heavily freckled arms across his chest.

"And why won't you tell me your powers, kid?" Logan said, hoping to get a rise out of the boy.

"Because they're completely uncontrollable," he responded coolly, glaring at the older man. "I came here to seek protection from being a mutant, not to learn how to control my powers. I want to forget they exist completely. If you believe I came he for any other reason you are sorely mistaken."

"Well," Logan began, taken aback by his complete and utter denial of his powers. He knew that the boy could not deny his powers, and that he had to learn to control them, but that would never happen if he denied they existed. Suddenly, he had an idea, although it would probably involve a great deal of pain on his part.

"Fine, if you don't want to talk about your powers that's fine with me. If you'll just follow me, I'll show you to your dorm room," Logan said gently, heading towards the door of the Danger Room.

As he approached the door he suddenly spun around, his adamantium claws springing out as he leaped on the boy. Then, before he knew it, he was plastered against the observation window of the Danger Room, staring down at Corey's orange-brown hair. The door opened and closed behind Corey of its own accord and Logan could feel the plexiglass behind him buckling under the sudden pressure.

Then, just as suddenly as the force had begun, it ended. Logan was dumped unceremoniously on the ground, shocked by his sudden release. Carefully he struggled to his feet and looked at Corey with a look of shock and amazement. Corey was tall and thin, and didn't look as if he would have such a potent ability.

"Wow," Logan said out loud, letting his amazement and happiness show, "a telekinetic. Kid, I underestimated you, that attack of yours packs a punch."

"I wasn't trying to attack you," Corey mumbled so quietly that Logan had to strain to hear him. "I wasn't trying to attack you. I was trying to create a barrier," he said just as quietly, looking at his feet.

"Oh," Logan said, surprised at the boys honesty. "Well, the school is here to help you learn to control your abilities. At least that's what they tell me."

"I don't think they'll be able to help me, not with the things I can do," Corey said sadly, continuing to look at the floor. "The last time I tried to learn to control my powers I…nearly blew up the house. That's why my parents sent me here."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. If I had a dollar for every kid who came to this school with that same story I wouldn't need a job. So, before I show you to your room, do you have any other tricks up your sleeve?"

"Wait, you don't want to kick me out. Even though I pretty much just swatted you against that window like a bug?" Corey asked questioningly, daring a quick glance at the big man.

"Listen, I've been done worse. So, do you do anything else or are you a one-trick pony?" he asked jeeringly, trying to maintain some semblance of masculinity.

"Well, aside from the telekinesis I can do some pyrokinesis and cryokinesis. I also have like a sixth sense. It's kinda like a fusion of undeveloped precognition and telepathy. Or maybe empathy is a better word for it," Corey answered quickly, enlivened by the knowledge that this was not like the other places his parents had sent him to.

"You know, I think I liked it better when you weren't so talkative. Listen, just follow me to your dorm and then go to Miss. Monroe's office tomorrow morning to get your class schedule and to find out when you can come to the Danger Room for training," Logan said gruffly, heading out the door.

Corey stayed behind for just a second and looked at the place he was going to call home. He stretched out his senses, using his sixth sense to get a better sense of everything. He felt all of the people, and how happy they were.

Just feeling their feelings of belonging and happiness comforted him. But just as new and unfamiliar as the comfort of others like him was something else, cloying and dark that seemed to cling to everything.

It was momentarily disorienting, the strange paradox of comfort and fear, and for a second Corey's head spun. Then he heard Logan call his name, and he shook off the strange sensation as his own fear. But as he took another look into what Logan called the Danger Room, he wasn't sure that what he felt was just himself.

**Please read and review! Criticism is appreciated! **


	2. II: Free Will

**Chapter 2: Free Will**

After Wolverine had shown Corey to his room where he had dropped off his backpack and duffle bag, the big man had more or less dragged him down to Storm's office. After Professor Xavier's demise she had become the headmistress of the school and had also taken over the placement of new students as well as the instruction into their powers.

It was pretty obvious that Corey did not want to go to Miss Monroe's office, but Logan really didn't care. He was still broken up by killing Jean, however necessary it may have been, and the teen's violent assault had almost sent him over the edge. Although he did not blame the child for not being able to control his powers, he still derived a certain pleasure in causing the child even a little bit of pain after being beaten by him.

_Why did I come here?_ Corey despaired silently as Wolverine strode down the hallway, wishing his powers had not chosen then to help him out. Although he could bring them to bear if given the time, what happened when he actually released them often had nothing to do with his intentions. He would have preferred to just have his powers bound, if that was possible, but he doubted that was going to happen.

"Mr. Aldred!" a strong female voice called through the wooden door. "Please come in."

_Well, here it goes_, he thought, sighing inwardly. He tried to compose himself, not wishing to let his nervousness show to his new headmistress. However, as he reached for the handle the door exploded into a fine powder, covering everything inside it with saw-dust.

He glanced inside at the woman, trying to read her expression. He sensed that it would have been impossible even if she hadn't been covered in sawdust and metal shavings.

Sighing at his inability to control his powers, Corey stepped through the door and sat in the chair facing the woman. Although his eyes were cast downward he had no trouble imagining the expression of anger which was surely forming on her face.

"Well," Mrs. Monroe said, a small laugh escaping her. Corey looked up and was surprised to see that she was not angry, but rather amused. "I have to say, not many new students are capable of doing that when they first come to the school. Your telekinesis is rather impressive," she continued, indicating a laptop on the desk that showed his picture as a way of explaining how she now knew what his powers were.

"I…," Corey began to respond, but Mrs. Monroe cut him off.

"Didn't mean to do it?" she supplied kindly, smiling at him. "It's okay; most students cannot control their powers when they come to the school. I'm just glad you blew up a door instead of a person."

She stood up and brushed saw-dust out of her hair and off of her business suit. Once she had removed the majority of the saw-dust she sat down again, ready to continue the meeting. "Now," she said, pulling out a folder, "here is your class schedule, information about the school, your Danger Room schedule and who'll you be rooming with. And," she paused, looking uncomfortable, "I have a proposal for you."

"If it requires me to use my powers, then the answer is no!" Corey said angrily, standing up. "Like I told that Wolverine guy, my powers are almost totally uncontrollable. The only thing I can manage to do is to use my sixth sense, and I can't even get that to work right half of the time."

"Sit down and stop that nonsense," Mrs. Monroe replied, not unkindly. "Very few powers are uncontrollable. I used to believe that mine were uncontrollable and I now have complete mastery over them. You'd be surprised what you can do given time and the proper guidance."

Corey stayed standing, uncertain what he should do. He had been using his sixth sense to test how truthful she was. It seemed that she was telling the truth, and for some reason he could not identify he was inclined to trust her. Slowly, still not entirely sure if he wanted to use his powers despite her reassurance that he would learn to control them, he sat down.

"Now, do you know who the X-Men are?" she asked kindly, not letting her happiness at convincing him she was trustworthy. When he shook his head no, she answered. "The X-Men are a team of mutants devoted to stopping other mutants from hurting humans and to fostering better relations with humans. And I would like you to join that team."

Her confession left Corey dumbfounded. _Join a team dedicated to making life better for humans and mutants_, he thought. He had heard about the X-Men. Everyone had, after the attack on Alcatraz and after the failure of the Cure. _It's an honor to be asked to join them, but what can I bring to the team that they don't already have_.

"I can tell what you're thinking," Mrs. Monroe interrupted his reflections. "Why do you want me to join the team? What can I do for the X-Men that they can't already do themselves? Why ask me when there are thousands of other telekinetics? The answer is simple," she replied, ready to answer all of the questions he had not voiced, "I would like you on the X-Men because you do not hate humans, as many mutants do. You do not blame them for the failure of the Cure. You are a good person, and a powerful mutant. You are exactly what the team needs."

"But, I can't control my powers yet," Corey countered desperately, a sudden fear clutching his heart. _What am I afraid of?_ he asked himself. _The Danger Room and now this. Am I channeling someone or something else, or is it just my own irrational feelings? Or is it something else altogether?_

"Right now you can't control your powers," she corrected. She gave no hint of the annoyance and anxiety that was blooming within her at his stubborn refusal to accept that he would learn to control your powers. "Please, join the X-Men?" she asked, almost pleaded, one last time.

"Fine," he answered after several minutes, still unsure if he was making the right decision. But now he had chosen a path, and the fear that had arisen in him disappeared as suddenly as it had come. He felt good, almost happy, to have a home and to be part of a team.

Mrs. Monroe walked around the desk and put a hand on his shoulder, silently thanking him. Then she picked up his bag, and with a slight gesture indicated that he should follow her.

She led him through a twisting maze of hallways that his bewildered and exhausted mind would not allow him to remember or unravel. At long last she opened a door and gestured him inside.

"This is your room," she informed him as he collapsed on the nearest bed.

He didn't hear her though. The events of the day overwhelmed him. Arriving at the manor, attacking Wolverine, being asked to join the X-Men. He didn't even here Mrs. Monroe close the door, his mind already within the solace of sleep.


	3. III: The Hearts a Battleground

**Chapter 3: The Hearts a Battle Ground**

For Corey the next two weeks were a blur of exhaustion and fear. Despite Mrs. Monroe's admonitions that he would learn to control his powers he had known it would not be that simple. And he had been right.

The moment he had stepped into the cafeteria he had been assaulted by a tidal wave of foreign thoughts and emotions. When he had been surrounded by normal humans he had been capable of creating a mental barrier to protect his mind from the minds of others. He was not, however, ready for the more powerful and slightly different minds of mutants.

He could barely keep his mind above the wash of questions that flooded him_. Whose that kid, Is he the new kid, What's his power, What's he doing here?_ rang through his head hundreds of times, not to mention the normal thoughts of teens and preteens. He could almost sense that they wanted him to show them his power so that they could begin classifying him.

So for the next two weeks he used the one power he could control, his sixth sense, to manipulate how people viewed him. It was not nearly as hard as he thought it would be. By using the weakest of telepathic dictates he made himself invisible. That way no teacher's bothered him, none of his fellow students came up to him asking him to demonstrate his power or to be their friend.

But his Danger Room courses were going much better than expected. He didn't see Logan anymore, but instead Mrs. Monroe, or Storm as she had instructed him to call her, was teaching him.

She began by teaching him to control and repress his emotions, helping to stop the random outbursts of telekinetic power. She instructed him to meditate outside of the Danger Room as well, to speed the process. She had told him it would take him several weeks, if not months, to learn to control his emotions. But there was nothing he wanted more than to control his power, so in every spare moment he meditated, and within two days had learned to repress them completely.

After that the training became more difficult. Not only did he have to meditate, but everyday she made him call upon his power to do tasks that increased in difficulty everyday.

The first were simple, requiring little more than brute strength: pushing a boulder off of a cliff, knocking a tree over, forming a barrier, heating and freezing water.

But towards the end the tasks seemed almost impossible: making water take the shape of a small bird while making it soar around the room with its wings flapping, heating a chemical to the point where all of it was the same color, and pulling the petals off of a rose one at a time.

Both were surprised when, just two weeks later, he had completed all of the tests she had designed for him.

"Well," she said as they walked out of the Danger Room after their final session, "you've learned to control your powers very well in these past two weeks. Your initial training is done!" she said, resting a friendly hand on his shoulder.

"But," he replied, concerned, "I haven't learned that much. I mean, what good is de-petalling a rose to the X-Men, or making a bird out of water?" he rushed on, nearly hyper-ventilating.

"You'll learn to make greater uses of your power through private practice and Danger Room sessions," she said kindly, turning him to face her. "No one, and I repeat, no one was born with the knowledge of how to control their powers. Some people will never learn to control their abilities because they are either a constant affect or are not completely refined. You," she said finally, letting her pride show, "can control your abilities as long as you maintain emotional control. You have come further than some students ever do, and you have done so incredibly quickly. I am very proud of you."

He looked at Storm, still uncertain about what he should say. During his stay he had come to cherish the feelings of comfort the school gave him, of being around people who were like him, even if he made himself invisible until he had the courage to confront them all. This woman had done so much for him, and he wanted to show her his gratitude. He wanted to join the X-Men, but he wasn't sure he was right for it.

"I'll join," he answered slowly, looking away. "But I can't promise I'll be able to bring anything to the team."

"Don't worry about that. Just show up at the Danger Room at five tomorrow and be ready for training," Storm said, opening the door to the women's locker room.

"Five in the evening?" Corey asked questioningly, dreading what she would say just as every other teenager would dread what they already knew was coming.

"No, five in the morning," she responded cheerfully, closing the door.

_Great_, he thought as he picked up his bag which he had set down by the door to the Danger Room. _Why didn't I get a bad feeling now? Five A.M?_ He picked up his bag and made his way down the hallway. As he stepped onto the elevator all he could think was: _Maybe it's not too late to disintegrate this school?_

xXx

At five the next morning Bobby, Kitty, Peter, Storm, Wolverine and Corey were assembled outside of the Danger Room. Kitty, Bobby, Peter and the two adults were dressed in black leather uniforms. Corey was dressed in simple grey sweats and a tattered t-shirt. They were all waiting for a seventh member.

The silence was disturbed as a beautiful girl of about fifteen stumbled out of the elevator, wearing the clothes similar to those of Corey.

"Sorry I'm late Miss. Monroe. My alarm went off late. I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long," she gasped, panting. She brushed a strand of long brown hair behind her ear.

_Damn you're hot_, Corey thought when she turned her prettily round face. And it was true. She wasn't a little toothpick like some girls, but rather someone who looked like they actually ate once in a while. Her face was prettily rounded and framed by lustrous, glossy brown hair.

However, everyone turned to look at him with an amused expression on their face. Slowly, uncertain of what had happened but making an inference he began to blush heavily.

"You…heard that didn't you?" he asked them quietly, blushing even harder. They all nodded their heads. Kitty, Bobby and Peter covered their mouths with their hands to hide their giggles and even Storm and Logan could not hide their smirks. The new girl, however, was eying him speculatively, neither blushing nor giggling.

"This," Storm said once everyone had calmed down, "this is Alice Circi. She will be joining the X-Men as well."

"Alice, Corey," she addressed the two new students; "I would like to introduce you to the X-Men. All of them have codenames in addition to their real names. Use those when you are in the field," she lectured them, adopting a face that was almost scary in its intensity.

"They are Wolverine, Bobby or Iceman, Kitty or Shadowcat, Peter or Colossus, and myself, whom I trust you know," she said, pointing to each of them in turn.

"Um, not to be a bother," Alice said boldly, "but I don't think either of us have codenames. Were we supposed to pick them out beforehand or something?"

"No. You can choose them in a few weeks, just concentrate on training now," Storm replied, leading them to the Danger Room.

"Where are the others?" Corey asked, stopping suddenly.

"What others?" Iceman asked, glancing at him dubiously.

"The red-head, and the man with glasses. You are all thinking about them. And about this girl with a white lock of hair. Rogue I think her name is," he replied, a confused expression on his face, almost as if he wasn't entirely sure if the answer he was giving was correct.

"The first two are dead," Wolverine spoke up, his gruff voice almost breaking with emotion. Corey was almost sorry he'd asked the question, feeling the tidal wave of grief washing over him, coming at him from every member in the room except for Alice.

"And Rogue took the Cure," Iceman finished. The wave of grief suddenly lessened coming from him, as if this was something of great joy for him.

Corey looked at the group, feeling their sorrow. They had loved the two that they constantly thought about, but both of them were gone.

And Rogue, who must have been Bobby's girlfriend he judged from the surge of elation and brighter emotions that flowed from him when he thought of her.

Even Wolverine's mood lifted when he thought of her, though in a way that suggested that she was just his very close friend.

The must have been through a lot together, Corey thought sadly, glancing at them. Everyone was giving him a strange look, one torn between fear and confusion. Only Alice's gaze seemed to be purely speculative and friendly.

Storm turned her back on them and entered the Danger Room, giving them a silent order to follow.

The inside of the Danger Room looked like a battlefield. Cars were strewn and paper littered the street. A giant robot of some sort strode menacingly towards them, its eyes glowing with malevolence.

"This," Storm said, her voice almost inaudible when compared to the sounds the robot made as it walked, "is a Sentinel. Its prime objective is to capture and kill mutants. In order to complete this exercise, you must defeat it."

"Is that all?" Iceman asked, stepping forward. "I can take it down all by myself," he assured them cockily.

"And I want Alice and Corey to be on the offensive. The rest of us will be here as defense, helping them out in a jam. Is that clear?" she asked the group. They all nodded their ascent.

Kitty, Colossus, Iceman, Wolverine and Storm stepped back, leaving the two newest recruits to face the behemoth alone. They glanced nervously at each other and swallowed.

"What's your power?" Alice asked, risking a glance at the steadily approaching Sentinel. "Is it just telepathy, or do you have some more offensive powers?"

"I have telekinesis and a couple of other things. Control of fire and ice, increasing and decreasing the kinetic energy in objects. I also have sixth sense which lets me read minds or sense danger," he rattled off the powers like facts on a list, all too aware of how close the Sentinel was getting.

"Wow," Alice sighed, awed. "That's impressive. I'm a reality-bender," she answered his silent question, smiling at him, "I can alter reality to make new things, or alter old things, even make things disappear. I can even increase good and bad luck, making things that don't normally happen…happen. There was this one time when I turned my little…," she began when the robot's fist came down on them.

A barrier of pale blue energy suddenly formed on top of them, deflecting the fist. Corey was looking up at it, his eyes glowing with the same pale blue light as the barrier. As the fist rose up the barrier winked out of existence.

"Can you do something to it?" Corey asked hoarsely, his eyes focused on the robot. "Turn it into a cute puppy dog, or make it catch fire, or….," he trailed off, uncertain of the limits of her power.

"How about making every piece of metal in his body age a thousand years in about twenty seconds while every screw and bolt pops out of place, and every wire and circuit board corrodes," she replied, smirking at him.

"That'll do," he said, not daring to take his eyes off of the Sentinel. "But can you hurry up, I think it's about to attack again?" he asked anxiously, his hand instantly reaching out to take hers.

She smiled at that, feeling the moment he did so a telepathic bond form between him. She could feel the power surging through his veins; his courage and fear, hate and love. She realized at the moment he touched her that he loved her, and knew in the same instant that she loved him as well.

Drawing power and courage from that him, she began to form the hex bolt. She envisioned what she wanted to happen and poured her desire for that to happen into the bolt. Her lips formed silent words, focusing her mind onto the task at hand.

Corey stared at her the entire time, feeling her power spilling into the telepathic bond. He reveled in the beauty and ferocity of her power. Then, after what seemed like an eternity but in actuality was only a fraction of a second she released the power in the form of an iridescent blue wave.

It crashed into the robot and sank into it. In less than a second the metal plates on its outer body collapsed in a cloud of dust. Its inside imploded as the bolts that had secured the wires and circuit boards popped out of place.

Both stood staring at the heap of metal and rust for a full minute before the realization that it was over dawned on them. They pulled each other into a tight hug, cradling each other as the shock wore off.

Just as Corey was about to kiss her when the others rushed up, interrupting their private moment. It was then that they realized that they hadn't been in any real danger, that it had only been a Danger Room mission, rushed in. But neither cared, their telepathic bond still surging with raw emotions. They knew they were meant for each other even though they had known each other for less than twenty minutes.

What the other's said didn't matter. Corey's mind vaguely registered Storm, Kitty and Colossus congratulating them, Logan giving him a gruff pat on the back, even Bobby complaining that they had just gotten lucky. They pulled them onto their shoulders and led them out of the Danger Room.

xXx

The illusion in the Danger Room shut down as they left. Classes would begin at eight. But after everyone had showered and changed the younger students gathered in the cafeteria and talked about the session.

While they were talking Corey slid in next to Alice covered her hand with his. Then, softly, carefully, almost as though he were unsure what would happen when he did it, he let his mind brush hers. Slowly he lost himself in her, forgetting about everything: the conversation, the battle in the Danger Room, his fear about not being able to control his powers.

He reveled in the beauty of her mind, its strength and power and intricacies. It was intoxicating. As he felt the other students in the school begin to drift into the cafeteria he told her the one thing that mattered, _I love you_.

_I love you too_, she replied in the safety and privacy of their shared mind, their own private world.

Then they kissed and broke off the deep connection until only the smallest trickle of the other flowed into their minds, ready to face a day of school where she was new and he knew it was that he would never pretend to be invisible again.

**I know this chapter is a little more risqué, but the way the fanfiction flowed when I wrote it just felt natural. I hope you like it. Please review!**


	4. IV: Karma

**Chapter 4: Karma**

An old man sat in a park with a chessboard in front of him. He had no one to play with, he wanted no one to play with.

He had been Magneto, the Master of Magnetism. He had been that man until a few months ago, until the X-Men, until the Battle of Alcatraz, until the Cure. Now he was merely Erik Lensherr, an old man who had happened to survive the Holocaust.

But over the past few days he had felt a stirring. It was nothing huge, nothing that he could use. He could still not move metal. He could not even bend a spoon. But he could feel it again, all around him. He could feel it humming from cars, stores, buildings, architecture, even from children's braces and from surgical pens. It was small, and he was not yet ready to act out again.

All Eric Lensherr felt was anger, anger at the stupid, pathetic humans; and at their useless attempt to destroy mutant kind. _An endeavor that they were not even capable of succeeding in_, he thought mockingly, feeling his anger and hatred for the humans rise within him, almost overpowering him.

He glanced at a pawn, the one he needed to move to put his nonexistent companion in checkmate. With all of the power of his mind, with every particle of his being, he willed it to move forward. Not to move much, just to the next square was all he was concentrating on. It was all he desired.

The pawn moved smoothly across to the square, resting exactly where he wanted it to. His power was back, if only a small portion of it. But now that he had released it he felt it growing, multiplying and intensifying with every second.

And as he got up from the stone bench he stood straighter than he had without his powers. He was no longer a nameless member of the human flock; he was not some pathetic human. He was Magneto, and the humans were going to pay for everything they had done. It was time to take the battle to them.

xXx

Magneto strode into the prison where they kept the mutant prisoner's from Alcatraz. They were their most dangerous prisoners-Juggernaut, Multiple Man, Pyro and anyone else who were known to have been with Magneto's assault force.

Mystique was not there. First of all, she was now a human, or at least appeared to be human until the Cure wore off. Secondly, she had made a deal to avoid prison time in return for information about Magneto. He already knew about the deal, and didn't blame her for it. He had, after all, abandoned her.

The first of the guards came at him, a taser-baton at the ready. But Magneto was prepared for him. The electricity that ran alongside the baton suddenly sparked into his hand where it continued to writhe, growing in intensity. Then, when he was ready, he released the lighting.

It jumped from one guard to the next, chaining them together, holding them immobile. It continued until Magneto called off the assault. Every guard fell to the ground, each for his own reason. Some were merely tased, others were dead from heart and organ failure from the intense electrical bolt.

"Juggernaut thought you were human," the behemoth shouted from his cell, held immobile by locks and sedatives. Not the sedative would be of much use if he ever broke free. "And he doesn't remember you being able to control lighting. Your stuff was magnetism."

"My dear Juggernaut, I was human. But the Cure was temporary, and it had some interesting side affects. Some interesting, and rather beneficial, side affects. Now, why don't we get you out?" Magneto said, once again assuming the role of leader and commander. He raised his hands and began to release those who had fought beside him at Alcatraz.

"I think you may need some help there old man," Mystique smirked from the doorway, her hands on her hip. She was once again blue, and as deadly as she had been before the Cure. "We can settle old scores later," she added seeing his curious glance, "right now you and I want the same thing." And with that she began to undo the locks on Multiple Man's cell.

xXx

Rogue and Bobby stood in an alcove, kissing. Although the school was pretty lax there were still rules on public displays of affection, and they didn't feel like being interrupted.

Rogue had taken the Cure to do this, to touch people, to be able to kiss them. Very few people had understood why she had done what she had done. Bobby had, and Logan. Storm had been disappointed though, and however hard she tried she kept unconsciously telling Rogue that she just didn't belong here.

The other students were worse. They believed that by taking the Cure she had betrayed mutant kind. No one realized that her mutation was more curse than gift. She had been doomed to be forever alone, never able to touch. With her gift she would never have been able to kiss her prom date, or her husband. She wouldn't even have been able to do the things necessary to have a child. And even if she adopted she could never give him or her a hug when they needed it, or kiss when they skinned their knee.

Her gift had made her unique, but no one seemed to understand that it had also made her alone.

As she kissed Bobby she became aware of something strange, a tingling on her skin like snowflakes were brushing across it. She opened her eyes to see if he was messing with her with his power again but was shocked and scared to see him turning a disturbing blue-grey and barely breathing.

She immediately broke off contact, trying to limit the damage her curse was doing. She tried to push Bobby off but she wasn't wearing her gloves, and she suddenly realized that it had been ages since she had been to weight room for X-Men training, and that Bobby was a good deal heavier than he looked. He slumped against her and it took all of her concentration to just keep him from touching her bare skin.

To make matters worse no one was in the hallway. Bobby and her had a study hall and hadn't worried about being late. They had actually thought about blowing it off entirely since it was the last block of the day and no one took attendance in it anyways. Now they were trapped, cut off for more than an hour until a stray student or teacher came across them.

She couldn't scream, holding up Bobby was taking all the air in her lungs. Desperately she began to call out with her mind, hoping there was still a telepath in the school with enough power to here her cries.

xXx

Alice and Corey were sitting in Storm's class, trying very hard to pay attention to the lesson she was giving about Romeo and Juliet. Unfortunately both had read it several times outside of school, being one of their favorite plays. They had both done the work already and had nothing to do aside from hold each others hands.

As he tried not to fall asleep Corey began to get a vaguely scared feeling. Not that Storm would particularly care that they were slacking since they had finished the work. It took him a minute to realize that it wasn't his fear he was feeling, but someone else's. As he focused on the growing not in his stomach he discovered it was an S.O.S. A girl was crying out mentally for help because she had no other option.

He closed his eyes and squeezed Alice's hand, uncertain of what he was doing and wishing to communicate some of his fear to her. He felt her mind reaching out to his, trying to silently ask him what the matter was, but he was already gone, tracing the message back to its source.

His mind recoiled in shock when he realized it was the only non-mutant at the school, Rogue. Or she had been the only non-mutant at the school, but she wasn't any more. Her draining powers had returned at the worse possible moment, when she was kissing her boyfriend. And now she was stuck, unable to touch him to move him and knowing that if she did she could kill him.

Without realizing it he stood up while holding Alice's hand. Alice stood up and edged closer, wanting more than anything to know what was wrong. The kids in the class turned to look at them, and Storm turned from the board to stare at them quizzically.

Corey didn't care though. With Alice in tow he began to race down the aisle, knocking backpacks and notebooks out of his way with a simple wave of telekinesis.

"Corey, Alice," Storm called after the pair of teenagers, worried, "what's the matter?"

"Rogue's in trouble, her powers are back," Corey called, his voice thick and scared, showing how scared he was and how desperate he was to remain in control of his emotions in case he hurt someone with his power.

"Where is she?" Storm asked, realizing the danger Rogue posed, whether she meant to or not, if her powers came back without her knowledge.

"Near the café," Corey called, almost at the back of the old lecture room, "in an alcove with Bobby," he added, confirming Storm's worst fears.

Corey's face screwed up in concentration as he reached the door. Then, as suddenly as the two were there they were gone, vanished into thin air from the lecture room, leaving Storm and the class to wonder at this new mystery...and reappeared less than ten feet from Rogue.

"Thank god," she cried desperately, barely able to keep Bobby upright while keeping him from touching her skin. Of all the days that he had to wear a t-shirt and she had to wear a spaghetti strap this had been the day.

"Hold on, we'll get you out," Corey assured her, moving closer. He raised his hand and prepared to levitate Bobby away from the now untouchable girl. But before he could move her an inch a new wave of pain, fear and confusion washed over him from all directions and he collapsed to the floor.

"Oh god," he whimpered clutching his head, "make it stop." Tears of pain poured freely from his eyes as he rocked back and forth on the ground.

"What is it?" Alice asked, getting on her knees and laying a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him. The gesture did no good, and when she spared a glance at Rogue she could tell that the girl was barely able to keep Bobby up and away from her bare skin.

Possibilities raced through her mind of how she could handle this situation. If Corey had been able to levitate Bobby it would have been so much simpler, but now he was incapacitated as well.

_I suppose I could turn Rogue to stone, but I don't think I could make her completely normal again. Or I could turn Bobby into a toad, that way he could just drop to the floor and Rogue wouldn't have to touch him. And she certainly wouldn't have to worry about kissing him anymore. But what should I do about Corey? I don't know what happened to him, but unless I do something I doubt anyone will be able to help him._

Then she realized the most obvious answer. All she had to do was temporarily bind all of their powers. Not for long, just for a few hours. That would give the adults time to take care of Bobby, help Rogue and find out what had made Corey collapse.

With a small wave of her hand she bound all of their powers. Corey stopped rocking on the ground and gingerly stood up, reaching out for her hand, a small gesture of comfort, as he did so.

They made their way over to where Rogue was slowly collapsing under Bobby's weight. Gingerly they lifted him off of her and laid him on the floor, being careful not to hit his head.

"Are you okay Rogue?" Corey asked, offering his free hand to her. She shied away like a horse shies away from a wolf.

"I can't touch you," she croaked, sobbing softly now that she didn't have to worry about keeping Iceman from touching her. "I'll kill you."

"Don't worry," Alice said, grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet, "I've bound the powers of every mutant in the general vicinity for several hours."

"That would explain why my head doesn't feel like an elephant is stepping on it anymore," Corey squeezed her hand, taking comfort in her presence. "Sorry," he glanced between Rogue and Bobby, barely able to see them through the haze of pain and fear that still clouded his mind, "about not being able to get him off of you. But the Cure just wore off a great many mutants, and most had reactions similar to yours. I wasn't prepared for the pain and fear."

All three turned as Wolverine, Storm and Angel raced down the hallway. Angel stooped to pick up Bobby while Logan gathered Rogue in his arms and cradled her against his chest as though she were a small child, not caring about his own safety since he didn't know about Alice's binding.

"What happened?" Storm asked, glancing between the unconscious Bobby, the sobbing Rogue and Corey nearly ready to drop, being held upright by Alice.

"Well, Bobby and I were kissing and suddenly I started draining him. It was after classes ended and no one was around. I couldn't put Bobby down because I didn't have my gloves and anyway I moved him I would've killed him, so I sent out a message to any telepath who might have heard it…," Rogue began, sobbing gently into Logan's chest.

"Which is when I got it," Corey interjected, ready to tell his part of the story. "I was in Storm's class when I felt her S.O.S. It was so full of fear and confusion that I was confused for a second, but then I traced the message back to Rogue. I ran from her class, I think," he said, momentarily confused. For the first time since he had received the message he looked around, not sure of what had happened. "How did we get here exactly?"

"Umm, I think you might have teleported us," Alice replied uncertainly as Kitty and Piotr phased through a wall.

"Oh," he said, sinking to the ground despite her best efforts to keep him standing. "Well, anyway," he continued, after several minutes, "once we got here I was overwhelmed by this wave of misery. The Cure wore off on every mutant at almost exactly the same time. Every voice in my head was mad, sad, angry and just generally mad at the world. I'm fairly sure that some did things much more destructive than Rogue…," he finished, looking at Alice to continue.

"And since Corey was incapacitated, and Rogue needed help, I just shifted reality a little bit. I just made a wave that would bind the powers of every mutant in my general vicinity for the next hour or two. And that," she said, sinking down next to Corey, "is where you guys came in."

Logan and Storm exchanged worried looks, sharing the same thought. If the Cure had worn off of all the mutants who had taken it, then that meant Magneto would have his powers back, or would have them back soon.

Then Storm's cell-phone rang, breaking the silence. During the school day she forwarded the office phone to her cell so that she didn't miss an important call. As she placed the phone between her ear and motioned for them to move down to the medical bay. Just before they reached the elevator the phone clattered to the floor.

"'Ro," Logan asked worriedly, turning to face her. Colossus moved behind her and steadied her as she swayed. "What's up?"

"We have to get to Muir Island, right now Logan," she said it as though she were in a trance, as uncertain as the rest of them what was happening.

"'Ro, what's going on?" Logan asked again, genuinely concerned now and more than a little scared. "What's the matter?"

"I'll tell you on the X-Jet Logan, we just have to go," she replied, snapping out of her daze and taking command of the situation once more. "Give Rogue to Colossus and come with me. Kitty, you know what to do about Bobby. He'll probably be out for the rest of the night, and some of tomorrow but he should be fine."

With the tasks issued she snatched up the phone and marched into the elevator. Logan gently handed Rogue, who had somehow fallen asleep, over to Colossus. Then the rest of them joined Storm.

In the mansions sublevel the group split apart. Storm and Logan continued straight towards the X-Jet hanger while Kitty, Colossus, Rogue, Bobby, Angel, Alice and Corey made their way to the medical bay.

xXx

As Storm belted herself into the X-Jet she finally looked at Logan, tears coming from her eyes.

"What's the matter 'Ro?" Logan said, genuinely concerned. He would have hugged her but both were already strapped into the X-Jet.

"That call was from Doctor Moira McTaggert, from Muir Island. She and the Professor worked together very closely for many years and were close friends. She is a pioneer in the field of mutant genetics," Storm added, seeing Logan's curious glance.

"Oh," he managed, uncertain how a simple phone call could have upset the strong woman so much.

"When she called she said that…that," Storm paused, trying to compose herself, to make what she was about to say less surprising and less fictitious, but there was no way. She barely believed it herself and couldn't really expect Logan to believe her. "She said that Charles was still alive."

xXx

Once in the medical bay Angel put Bobby on one examination table while Colossus gently placed Rogue on the other. Kitty pulled several machines over to Bobby and began to attach various wires to him.

Alice and Corey merely collapsed in the center of the room, exhausted from their ordeals. Corey was still recovering from the incredibly potent mental blast he had received and Alice was nearly drained from sustaining the binding of three fairly powerful mutant's abilities.

It wasn't that she was weak. It was actually quite the opposite. Her "hexes" as she called her bolts and waves, required a lot of power to begin with, and generally she could cast potent hexes all day long because her power would regenerate quickly in between hexes.

But binding a mutant power required a continued output of power, and all of the mutants whom she was binding had energy level's high above that of even fairly powerful mutants. The combined drain of Bobby, Rogue and Corey was taking power out of her faster than her body could hope to restore it. So, as she collapsed onto the cold floor of the medical bay, the hex just fell apart.

Corey was immediately aware of it. He felt the pain of the newly reborn mutants and quickly threw up powerful mental blocks. He glanced over at Alice, whose eyes were drooping, and realized what must have happened.

"Are you okay?" he whispered, leaning close to her.

"Yeah," she replied, stifling a huge yawn. "It was just too much, binding all of your powers. I couldn't sustain that kind of output. I didn't realize how draining it would be," she said, barely able to keep her eyes open and hating that she had failed.

Corey, however, immediately felt her disappointment in herself and kissed her, letting her know that everything was all right, that she hadn't failed and that he still loved her despite what she might be feeling. As he broke off the kiss he looked at her one more time. Even though she was clearly exhausted and seconds away from sleep she was still beautiful, and he knew he would love her for the rest of his life even though he had known her for less than twelve hours.

Slowly he got up and made his way over to Bobby who lay shivering on the observation table.

"Is he okay Kitty?" he asked, reading the signs on the monitor. His heart rate seemed steady, and his oxygen level was high, but he wasn't trained in medicine and obviously she had far more experience than him in that.

"He seems to be fine, but this room is freezing and his body temperature is a little lower than I would like. I mean, his body is kinda naturally lower than most people's but still, I am a little concerned," she said, biting her lower lip.

"I could heat the room up, if you want," Corey offered, realizing that the room was in fact fairly cold.

"But I thought…" Kitty began, looking over his shoulder at the now sleeping Alice.

"It was more draining than she thought it would be so she had to let it go. All of us have our powers back, so be careful not to touch Rogue yet until we figure out exactly what happened," he said, warming the air in the room to a comfortable seventy as he spoke.

"Well, at least it is over now," Colossus said in heavily accented English, probably speaking for the first time all day. "We should all rest for when they wake up."

Corey looked away, his sixth sense telling him something was wrong, that something bad was coming. "You're wrong, Colossus. The Cure and its aftermath are only the first battle of a very long war. It's not over," he said sadly, not quite sure where he had obtained this knowledge but certain of it none the less. "It hasn't even begun, and it's going to get much, much worse."

**Any reviews are appreciated, even if they're criticism. I know there are things wrong with my story (like chapter titles for instance), so don't hesitate to correct my mistakes.**

**Thanks for the reviews Scarlett Ivy and dancingelf1986.**


	5. V: Changes

**Chapter 5: Changes**

**Thought it was about time I do this.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the X-Men franchises and I make no money off of this.**

As the X-Jet landed Muir Island the weather was turning dark and stormy, reflecting the serious mood of the situation. Storm and Logan walked out of the Blackbird to see Dr. McTaggert's smiling face.

"Storm!" she cried, rushing to embrace the woman. Storm returned the embrace, happy equally happy to see Dr. McTaggert. Once she had finished hugging Storm she turned to face Logan.

"And you must be Logan," she said, making it more of a statement then a question. She extended her hand for him to shake.

"I'm sorry," he said after shaking her hand, slightly unnerved by her cheerfulness, "but do I know you?"

"No, no. The Professor has just talked so much about the students and teachers at his school," she replied, toning the energy down. She gestured for them to follow her into the hospital.

"So, you're that sure that the man is actually Xavier?" Storm asked, taken aback.

"Oh yes, I'm very sure," Dr. McTaggert replied cryptically, leading them into the stark whiteness of the hospital.

xXx

"Magneto," Pyro said, desperately trying to get his attention, "what are we going to do now? You're back, and you've got a few new tricks," he added, remembering the bolts of lightning Magneto had conjured in the prison.

Stories like that had been popping up ever since the Cure had worn off. It had happened so quickly, ninety-nine percent of mutants received their powers back at the same time. Some had received their powers a few earlier than the others.

He suspected that Magneto wasn't the only one returned, changed. Magneto's new ability was an outgrowth of his old, the ability to now control the electricity to go with his control of magnetism. Pyro was sure that some had entirely new powers, or their powers had evolved to a much more powerful and advanced stage.

Pyro shook himself from his thoughts, focusing on what he was trying to tell Magneto about. "But the Brotherhood was decimated. The fucking Phoenix killed practically two-thirds of the mutants at Alcatraz, and we haven't used our powers in weeks. We're all totally out of practice. We need to get some more mutants or something before we even think of doing anything."

As much as he hated to admit it Pyro knew that he would get pulverized by a human, let alone a member of the X-Men, if they went up against them now. He hadn't used his power in weeks and knew the others were in the same, if not worse, condition. Even Magneto was still learning to control his new abilities.

"As much as I hate to agree with the little freak," Mystique sneered, enjoying the look of anger that crossed Pyro's face, "we aren't in any condition to do anything. Even if were in control of our powers, we still don't have many members. As much as I want revenge on the humans, there's no way five or six mutants could possibly stand up to all of humanity."

"I couldn't agree more," Magneto said, smiling over the newspaper he had picked up, "and I'm working on a way to get more recruits."

"Magneto, you'll never believe what just happened!" Sabertooth yelled, his tires screeching as he braked. "Those freakin' X-teachers left the school."

"What happened?" Magneto said, looking up from his newspaper. As soon as he had broken them out of prison he had sent one of them to watch over Xavier's at all times, just in case.

"I don't know. But the X-Jet took off and the only people I saw in it were Storm and Wolverine," he said, breathless from the speed with which he had raced back to the Brotherhood's lair.

"This, my dear," Magneto said, smiling a sinister smile at Mystique, "is exactly the opportunity we've been waiting for."

xXx

Kitty and Colossus were sleeping against each other in the medical bay, tired from school and bored by having nothing to do but wait for Storm. Alice was still asleep in the middle of the room, exhausted by her attempts at temporarily binding their powers. Rogue was sleeping lightly on one of the examination tables, still in shock by what she had done to Bobby. Bobby himself was still unconscious, though looking better than he had initially after Rogue had drained him.

Corey levitated in the center of the room, meditating. He had found it necessary to do so, even after Storm had taught him the basics of how to control his emotions. He had to meditate for an hour, sometimes even longer, to maintain a tight control on his emotions. He didn't want to risk what could happen to other people if they ever truly broke through his carefully constructed and maintain barriers.

"Where am I?" Rogue asked groggily, her southern accent more noticeable than it usually was when she was awake.

Corey opened an eye and settled down on the ground, walking quietly and carefully over to her to avoid waking the still slumbering Alice.

"You're in the medical bay Rogue," Corey said gently, helping her to sit up. He was, however, careful to erect a skintight barrier before touching her bare skin.

"What happened?" she asked, glancing around as if the room held some clue to how she had gotten there. When she spotted Bobby's unconscious body she sobbed softly, burying her face in her hands as it all came rushing back. "No, it just can't be true," she sobbed.

"I'm sorry," Corey said, sitting next her. She shied away, fearful of what would happen if she accidentally touched him. "Don't worry," he said, smiling softly. "I made a shield so that you didn't have to worry about touching me."

"Thanks," she said, tightly gripping the edge of the table. "I can't believe their back," she continued as tears rolled down her eyes. Unnoticed by both of them swirling patterns of ice began to spread outward from Rogue's clenched hands until the area surrounding her hands was covered in a quarter of an inch of ice.

"I spent so much time wishing that my powers were gone, that I was normal. And then when I took the cure it was a dream come true. I could touch people, kiss my boyfriend. It was everything I wanted," she continued, no longer crying.

"I'm really sorry Rogue. You're not alone though, not by a long-shot. What I felt earlier this afternoon, that emotion, there are millions of mutants who just got their powers back," Corey comforted her. He looked at her and then down, sensing that what she really wanted at the moment was just to get everything off her chest. When he saw the frost creeping outward from her hands he jumped off the rapidly freezing table.

"Rogue!" he cried alarmed, accidentally waking Kitty, Peter and Alice.

"I'm sorry Corey, I know I shouldn't be unloading all this on you, I hardly know you, but..."she began, upset that she had caused yet another person pain today.

"It's not that," Corey said quickly, doubting that Rogue needed something else to blame herself for, "it's your hands."

"What's wrong with my hands?" Rogue asked, looking at them. She jumped off the table as soon as she saw the frost spreading outward from them.

"Rogue, what's wrong?" Kitty asked, running through the table and Bobby in her haste to get to her friend. "What happened?"

"I still have Bobby's powers," Rogue replied evenly, sounding slightly removed from the situation. She sounded slightly removed from what was happening in the lab but if Kitty had to guess it sounded as though Rogue was in shock again.

"You can't Rogue, it's been hours. You normally only absorb powers for a few seconds…maybe minutes at the longest," Kitty said soothingly, trying to calm her friend before she had another panic attack.

"I know, but look at the examination table," Rogue commanded, pointing at the icy patch on the table. It was shiny and slick as the top of it melted in the warm room.

"There is no way this is happening without one of the adults here," Kitty said, stepping back. She stumbled on Alice who was still seated on the floor and fell flat on her but. "Oh why didn't this happen when Storm was here, I am so not equipped to deal with this," Kitty moaned, sounding much more like the teenager she was and less like a mutant who had fought (and lived) through the battle of Alcatraz.

Just then the phone started ringing, startling them all. Peter picked it up and listened intently. The frown he had before deepened as he listened, and after about five minutes he hung up.

"That was Hank McCoy," he said gravely, looking at each of them in turn. "He called to tell us that the Cure had worn off, not that it was news to us," he continued, glancing at Rogue. "But he also said that some got their powers back earlier, as much as a week ago, and that from the data from those who received their powers were changed they had new powers, or enhanced powers."

He paused allowing them to digest this news. It seemed to fit, considering Rogue still had the powers that she had drained from Bobby hours ago when she should have lost them after the first few minutes. When they had digested the news he continued.

"Hank McCoy said Magneto and Mystique were among those who got their powers back," he said solemnly, knowing that was by far the worst news he had delivered so far. "It gets worse. Magneto busted his Brotherhood out almost five days ago. Juggernaut, Pyro, Multiple Man and his men are on the loose again," he concluded solemnly, glancing around the room.

"This is bad, really bad," Kitty cried, rushing through the table and Bobby again in a beeline for the phone. "We really need Storm and Logan, now!"

"Why?" Colossus asked. Alice looked confused as to why a bunch of mutant criminals was such a big deal. She hadn't been at the school for more than three days and had yet to receive the full details about Alcatraz and Magneto yet and therefore didn't realize the threat he posed.

"Because," Corey cut in while Kitty frantically dialed, fearful of whatever Magneto would almost certainly try to do in Storm and Logan's absence, "Magneto may attack the school, to try and shut down the X-Men while he attacks the humans. Or worse, he may come to the school and try and recruit the mutants here. His Brotherhood was decimated by the Phoenix. I'm sure he wants revenge on the humans, and he'll need more mutants to do that."

"Hi, Storm, its Kitty," Kitty cried desperately, almost weeping with joy at getting through to her, "listen, you need to get down here right now. Rogue's powers are…," she stopped suddenly, staring at the phone in horror.

"What's wrong?" Colossus asked, making his way to Kitty.

"The phone just went dead. This is not good," she cried. If it had been another day, or if Storm had been there to take charge of the situation, she could have handled it. But she was exhausted, and worried about Bobby, and the thought of Magneto attacking when there was no adult around to guide them she was dangerously close to hyperventilating. Leadership was not her strong suit.

As she put the phone back on the cradle she looked at between Corey, Colossus, Alice and Rogue. They all shared the same thought, _Magneto's already here_. And then the lights went out.

xXx

"Is everything okay Storm?" Logan asked as they walked through the white hallways. They had barely been on the island for ten minutes when a call came from Xavier's.

"I don't know. It was Kitty, and she sounded pretty panicked," Storm said, sticking the cell back into her pocket. She was slightly disturbed by the fear in Kitty's voice but was far more concerned about this man who claimed to be the Professor. "What could have happened though? We've only been away for two hours."

"Well, Corey said that he felt the Cure wearing off on thousands, maybe even millions, of mutants," he said, not entirely sure what could possibly happen, or was happening. Magneto had been given four doses of the Cure so it should have lasted longer for him, and even if it had worn off is entire team was in jail. He was hardly a threat.

"Here we are," Moira said. She had not been paying attention to their conversation or irritation, in a world of her own. She was thinking of the past, and of how much she had cared for Charles.

"Hello Moira, Ororo and Logan," said the man sitting in the bed. He put the large book he had been reading aside as they entered. Logan stopped, amazed. He could not be hearing what he thought he had heard. It was a complete and utter impossibility. He had seen the Phoenix…

"Destroy me less than a month ago," the man who Logan had already decided was Charles finished for him, flashing him a smile filled with pain. "And Ororo, I know you do not believe it is me, but if you would like I can tell everyone about the time I caught you and Hank down in the med lab while everyone was asleep," he said jokingly, his eyes twinkling.

"Oh Charles," Storm cried, rushing to his bedside. She hugged him deeply, overwhelmed with joy that her mentor and savior was alive and well. "But how?" she asked, pulling away from him slightly.

"Ah," Charles said, sitting back slightly. "Well, I'm sure that you recognize this man Storm," he said, looking at her meaningfully. She looked closer at the face, trying to remember were she had seen it before. Suddenly comprehension dawned.

"Yes, it is the man who has been in the coma since birth. The man I used in my ethics lessons. In my last moment of life, before the Phoenix completely consumed me, my mind went outward, unconsciously, or maybe consciously, I am not sure, looking for another place to reside. It found this body, perhaps the only body that has never been the vessel of a mind. In the instant before the Phoenix, my entire consciousness transferred to this body."

"Ain't that against your rules Chuck?" Logan asked, trying to hide the joy he felt at knowing that Charles was still alive. As much as he was loath to admit it, Logan cared deeply for the man who had done so much for not only himself, but also for Rogue, who was the closest thing he had to family.

"I don't know if I had a choice in it," Charles replied, realizing that it was meant to be a joke while at the same time feeling the need to explain. "At the last instant, before I died, it was reflex, or instinct, that drove me. I had no control of what happened."

"And I don't care what happened Chuck," Logan said, sensing that the man was more than a little disgusted and disturbed by what he had done, even if he hadn't been in control of it. "I'm just happy to have you back."

"We're both happy that your back Charles," Storm said, sitting on the edge of his bed. "I think we're going to need just about all the help we can get right now."

"Why?" Charles asked, his new face twisted in confusion. As he looked at Storm he realized how drawn she looked, how incredibly and utterly exhausted she appeared. On closer examination even Logan looked like he had not been sleeping well. Clearly the past few weeks had been difficult for both of them. He sensed there was something they were not telling him that was the source of their misery.

"There is a new student at the school, possibly a class five," Storm began, uncertain of how to begin explaining all that had happened in Charles' absence, "Actually, several potential class fives. But this one has telepathic abilities. They're potent, undeveloped, but potent nonetheless. And this afternoon, Rogue received her powers back."

"She took the Cure," Logan interjected, feeling the need to defend her. The mutants had made Rogue's life a nightmare when they discovered she had taken the Cure. Almost no one, except for maybe himself, had understood. They didn't know what it was like to never be able to touch someone you loved, to be completely and utterly alone no matter how many people were around you.

"Understandable," the Professor said, nodding. "Her power would always be uncontrollable; there was nothing to be done about that. Taking the Cure would give her all the things back that her mutation had taken away. It must have taken great courage for her to take it."

Storm looked at her feet, feeling guilty. Although she had displayed no outward sign of a change in her relationship with Rogue she had resented the girl for taking the Cure. It had felt like a betrayal. But she also knew that it she had been cruel to expect Rogue to give up the chance at any sort of relationship, any sort of happiness, with another person just because she was opposed to the Cure. There were some whose lives were made unbearable by the mutation, and those were the ones who took the Cure because they wanted a better life, not to fit in.

"Do not be so hard on yourself Ororo," the Professor said, obviously reading her mind. He gently took her hand and said, "You are only human, and such feelings are natural."

"Thank you Professor," Storm whispered, tears in her eyes. Nothing the Professor said could make her feel better about herself for resenting Rogue in the past, but she vowed she would make it up to the girl.

"Anyway," Storm said, wiping her eyes and hoping that no one had seen the tears, "A few minutes later the new mutant was overwhelmed by a wave of pain and anger. Apparently the Cure wore off of the majority of the mutants at roughly the same time."

"That is bad," the Professor said, looking concerned. He ran his fingers through his hair, something that took Storm and Logan by surprise. They were both so used to the old Professor that they were not at all prepared for his new face, even though his voice was the same.

Then, shocking Storm and Logan once again, he swung his legs over the bed and stood up. Logan rushed to catch the man before he collapsed but stopped when he realized that the Professor was standing fine all by himself. Despite the fact that they had the Professor back in spirit did not mean they had him exactly as he was before, and they were going to have to adjust to his new body.

"Is it okay if I leave with them, Moira?" Charles asked, nodding to the beautiful Doctor who had apparently been standing in the doorway, observing the whole scene.

"Of course Charles," she replied, smiling. "But I'm going with you. Before you protest, you just transferred your entire consciousness from one body to another and have not yet recovered all of your telepathic abilities. If you think I'm going to let you go somewhere that a doctor cannot take care of you if something happens then you may have left a few points of your IQ behind," she said, giving no indication that she was joking.

"And besides," she barreled on, even though it was obvious to Storm and Logan that Charles was already prepared to let her come, "I would like to study Rogue's DNA. We have received reports for the past week about mutants receiving their powers back after taking the Cure, and that all of these had new or stronger abilities."

"What?" Storm cried, wheeling to face the older woman. "Who received their powers back earlier this week?"

"Just a few mutants, less than one percent of those who took the Cure," she replied, taken aback by the woman's intensity. "There has been no pattern determined for those who received their powers back early but there is some debate that it is possibly related to the dosage of the Cure given or the power of the individual mutant," she continued as Storm's cell phone.

Her expression morphed to one of nervousness to one of downright horror as she listened to the person on the other end of the phone. When the call was over she closed the phone and put it back in her pocket, her hand shaking with a combination of fear and rage.

"What's the matter?" Charles asked, unable to sense one coherent thought in the jumble of images running through her mind.

He saw Bobby, slumped against Rogue, apparently having been drained by her after she received her powers back. A boy and a girl he did not recognize holding hands after destroying a giant robot in the Danger Room. Then there was the flight to the island and the phone call she had just received. All were tainted by a fear that he could not pinpoint with his still weakened powers.

"That was Hank," Storm replied, her voice shaking nearly as badly as her hands. "He said that Mystique and Magneto broke the rest of the Brotherhood out of prison five days ago."

"Oh no," Charles said. Storm and Logan began to run out the door. Charles flew after them a little awkwardly, still unused to walking after so many years in a wheelchair. Moira followed him, not bothering to try and grab any of her clothing or supplies. If she needed anything Charles could get her back here or she could buy new things, this situation seemed more pressing than her packing her favorite stethoscope.

"What's the matter?" Moira asked as they boarded the X-Jet, concerned by the others fear and anxiety.

"Magneto is going to want revenge on the humans for the Cure," Logan replied, answering half of her question.

"But to get his revenge he'll need more mutants," Charles continued, helping to strap Moira in.

"And we just left a group of three-hundred plus confused and scared preteen and teenage mutants without any adults to take care of or protect them," Storm finished, starting the X-Jet.

"Oh God," Moira whispered, realizing what Magneto would try and do without Logan or Storm at the school to stop him, and it was her fault.

**Thanks for the reviews DancingElf1986, Roguepixie04, La Noir Rose, and Scarlett Ivy. Hope I got everyone!  
**

**Sorry to leave you hanging, but I thought it was a good way to end the chapter. Nothing like suspicion to keep you hanging. Just kidding, it just seemed like an appropriate way to end the chapter, and I promise, you won't be disappointed to be kept waiting.**

**Keep those reviews coming. I love reading your comments, and I'll try to review your stories if I can.**


	6. VI: Blitz

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men or any of the characters and do not make any money off of this fanfiction.**

**Chapter 6: Blitz**

"Do you guys have emergency lights or anything?" Alice asked, trying to keep the panic from her voice. The lights had been out for nearly five minutes and they were all beginning to worry.

"Yeah, we do. Or we did," Kitty added quietly, as scared as Alice was. "They should have come on a few seconds after the other ones went out, but if they're out for the reason we think they are then…" she trailed off, not needing to say what they were all thinking. Magneto was at the school.

"Hold on guys," Corey said, levitating a few inches above everyone's heads to avoid hitting them. After a few seconds a small flickering flame appeared in from of him. It slowly blossomed until it lit the entire room with yellow, flickering light.

"We need to check on the other children," Colossus said, looking around the room as if expecting Magneto or one of the Brotherhood to be in the room with them. He headed to the door but Corey stopped him before his hand even touched the handle.

"Um, maybe we should just try my way," he said, making air quotes as he said it. He landed gently and grabbed Alice's and Rogue's hands and motioned for Kitty and Colossus to join them.

"Is Angel up in the school?" Alice asked suddenly, remembering the blonde man who had helped them all into the basement. "Maybe he got the children in their rooms already," she added hopefully.

Corey's eyes began to glow slightly and took on a slightly glazed appearance, making them look like phosphorescent blue marbles. He reached out with his mind, searching for Angel in the school. He knew within seconds that the older man was not there.

"Angel is not there. He probably went to talk to his father about the Cure" Corey answered, his head spinning with the slight disorientation that always came when he used his telepathy. "But there are at least five members of the Brotherhood in the foyer, maybe more. I think there are some of the older students keeping them from getting further into the school, but they're not going to last long."

"Take us up there Corey," Kitty commanded, now more concerned about her friends and the young children than she was about her own personal safety. She grabbed Corey with her left hand and slipped her right hand into Colossus' left.

There was no slow shift when Corey took them to the foyer of the school, only a dizzying disorientation as their minds told them they were still in the med lab while their eyes told them they were in the foyer.

"Hello," an elderly man that they all recognized to be Magneto said kindly, stepping forward. The group simultaneously released each others hands and moved slightly apart, prepared to defend the school in case Magneto decided he wanted to get further in.

"My, my," the elderly man said jokingly, pretending to be taken aback by their anger at him and fear of him. "Whatever do they teach you kids in school? I've been explaining to these children that I only want to talk to all of the students, but they won't let my poor mutants any further in," he said, gesturing at another group of mutants who were standing further back in the hallway.

Corey and Kitty glanced back to see the telepath Emma Frost supporting an injured Wallflower. A student named Sway who had arrived a few weeks before Corey was leaning against a wall, ready to freeze time or create a temporal distortion if need be. A pretty girl named Psylocke was holding her hands out before her, creating a force field to prevent the mutants from advancing any further.

"You're not welcome here Magneto," Rogue declared, stepping forward. Her hands were trembling and ice was forming in delicate patterns around her bare feet.

"And what're you going to do about it, Princess?" Pyro sneered, stepping forward until the two were less than a foot and a half apart. "Your precious Iceman isn't here to protect you, and I'll roast you to a nice golden brown before he can stop me."

"I'm not so defenseless anymore," Rogue spat. She raised her hands and fired a beam of ice that punched through Psylocke's barrier and hit Pyro square in the chest. The blow knocked him off of his feet and he landed towards the door, his upper body covered in thick frost.

"My, my," Magneto chuckled appreciatively. "You have come quite a long way since the Statue of Liberty my girl. If I had known how strong you could have grown I would have changed my plans."

"She's right Magneto," Alice said, stepping forward and grabbing Rogue's hand. Corey noticed the slight sparkle as she did so and realized that she was protecting herself from Rogue's power. "I don't even know who you are but I know what you did. You tried to make a good person into a weapon and millions died because of it. You're not welcomed here, and no one will ever want to hear what you have to say. Leave!" she shouted with a finality that took everyone by surprise.

"I don't think I will," Magneto replied, clenching his fist and letting lightning skip across his knuckles. "I'm afraid I have no choice but to get rid of you all." And with that he hurled a bolt of lightning at Corey, who quickly raised a shield to push away the blow.

"Kitty, Peter, take Colossus!" Corey cried, racing forward. "Rogue take Pyro! Alice handle Multiple Man! I've got Mystique and Magneto. Emma, Psylocke, Wallflower and Sway, get the younger students and get them out of here just in case."

Suddenly the Brotherhood attacked as one, each aiming for a different mutant, and the young X-Men stepped forward to stop them.

xXx

"Do you remember the Juggernaut little lady?" Juggernaut inquired mockingly, swatting at Colossus as he did so. He hit the teen with a blow that would have killed him if he had not been covered in a substance as hard as adamantium. Even so the boy flew nearly ten feet into the nearest wall.

"Leave him alone," Kitty cried, jumping on top of him. As he tried to ram her into a wall she phased. He stopped short where he thought the wall should be and she allowed him to go solid, trapping him inside the wall.

She then phased threw him and stood with hands on hips, looking at him mockingly. "How does it feel to get beaten by a little girl, again?" she asked, smirking at him.

"I'll let you know as soon as I've been beaten," he replied, preparing to break through the wall. But as soon as he had the slightest of momentum going she touched the wall, allowing him to run unimpeded.

Colossus was waiting right in front of him, his foot out. Juggernaut ran into it full tilt and would have continued going if it hadn't been for Alice, who had been nearby. She fired a hex-bolt at him and he tripped, crashing full force into the wall.

In a second Colossus and Kitty were on top of him. Colossus was beating him badly, never letting up the assault. And whenever the Juggernaut tried to move Kitty would phase him into a new and awkward position on the floor.

xXx

"Ah, come on Rogue," Pyro said, flames flickering in his open palms. "You know you always wanted me instead of Bobby."

"Please," she laughed, blowing out his flames with another beam of ice. "I wanted you about as much as I want a starving lion in my bedroom. I'd rather catch malaria than kiss you," she continued the barrage of insult, sarcasm dripping from her every word.

"Fine, eat this then you whore," Pyro shouted, shooting a huge column of flame at her.

She was prepared for his assault though. Pyro had always had a hot temper and a huger chip on his shoulder, and she was fairly sure that any insult would be enough to make him do something reckless. As soon as she saw the flames coming towards her she ducked low, allowing the burning flame to pass harmlessly where her head had been.

When Pyro let his flames die to see whether she had been burned to a crisp as he had hoped she froze the floor under his feet. As he took a step forward to see what had happened to her because he was temporarily blinded in the dimness by his own fire, his feet went out from under him.

In a second Rogue was straddling him. She quickly put a thick layer of frost over his lighter to prevent him from conjuring fresh flames then she leaned in close to his face, so close she could feel his hot breath on her own.

"So, you want to know what it was like all of those times Bobby took a chance an' kissed me?" she asked gently, her southern drawl slightly more pronounced than it usually was. She saw the terror in his eyes when she asked the question and smiled inwardly, feeling an odd pleasure at his obvious fear.

"Come on, don't ya' wanta' take a ride with me?" she asked gently as she kissed him. She felt the heat of his flames pour through her as she did so. It was exhilarating, feeling the fire, knowing its destruction while at the same time feeling its beauty. It was so powerful she didn't want to stop kissing him, but she knew too long would kill him. So after about five seconds she drew her lips away and stared into his now slumbering face.

"Not half bad for a first time sug'," she drawled, enjoying not being the most defenseless member of the team. "But Bobby was better," she added, knowing the insult would be lost on him but wanting the last jibe just for old time's sake.

xXx

"Listen, girl, I really don't want to hurt you," Multiple Man said, backing away slightly. He had never been comfortable with the ideas of killing humans, or anything like that. Alcatraz had only convinced him that there were better ways to make mutant life easier than by violence.

"You don't?" Alice asked, not entirely trusting the man but not willing to attack him if he said he didn't believe in violence.

"No, I don't. I don't believe in killing people, or hurting kids just to get revenge. After Alcatraz I want nothing to do with Magneto and his gang. Please let me stay here, I…um…I think I might want to…join the X-Men," he said, tugging at his shirt collar. He pulled all of his copies into himself to prove that he wasn't going to attack.

"You…do?" Alice asked, dumbfounded by the man's candid confession. When he nodded all she could do was shake her head in disbelief.

"Is that a no?" Jamie asked, depressed and scared at the thought of having to go back with the Brotherhood and follow their orders.

"Um, no," Alice replied hastily, still trying to wrap her head around the idea that a member of the Brotherhood wanted to join the X-Men. "But, I'll have to bind your powers. At least until Storm or Logan talk to you," she added, afraid that the thought of living without powers would deter him from joining.

"Fine," Jamie said happily, dancing at the thought of not having to use his copies in the Brotherhood any more or have to do any of their dangerous and vindictive missions. "Slap the cuffs on whenever you want girlie, just don't make me go back with those psychos."

"'Kay," Alice replied numbly, unleashing the hex the moment he gave the go-ahead. "But get in a corner or something so you don't get hurt," she said, pleased at how the encounter had ended.

She turned around just in time to give Peter and Kitty a helping hand and duck behind a column as one of Magneto's stray lighting blasts came her way. She surveyed the carnage in the foyer where Jamie was crouching behind a staircase, Rogue was pulling an unconscious Pyro behind a column and Kitty and Peter seemed to be having a good time beating up the brute Juggernaut, so by process of elimination she chose Corey, who had yet to attack either Magneto or Mystique and appeared to be falling back a little more each second.

xXx

Corey instantly threw up a shield against Magneto's lighting strikes and was aware that Mystique had circled behind him.

All around the fight raged, or not. He saw Rogue take Pyro out in less than a minute, and out of the corner of his eye spotted Kitty and Peter beating up Colossus. He even saw Alice come to some sort of agreement with the man who make copies of himself, Jamie Madrox.

He maintained the shield constantly, shoving it to the edge of his consciousness as he watched the various battles unfolded. Eventually he forced himself back to the task at hand, but couldn't bring himself to attack either Mystique or Magneto, although both were doing their very best to break through his shield.

It wasn't as though he didn't know that they were bad people, or that they wanted to kill him in an effort to try and recruit more members to the Brotherhood. He knew all of these things, and yet he couldn't bring himself to attack them.

The truth was that despite the emotional control Storm had taught him, and the Danger Room session with the giant Sentinel, he wasn't sure he could control his powers. Deep inside he was afraid they would break free, ignoring his commands and desires, and simply destroy everyone and everything around him, and he would be alone again. He didn't want that to happen, and couldn't bear the thought of it happening.

Suddenly he saw Alice running towards him. However, Mystique intercepted her. The blue monster gave her a slap that sent her reeling.

"Leave her alone!" Corey shouted. Although he had not had the initiative to defend himself, seeing one of his friends hurt was more than he could bear. He sent out a wave of telekinesis that sent the blue woman sprawling before she could do any more damage. His eyes glowed with the same fierce blue light that always appeared whenever he used his powers and he rose slowly into the center of the room.

Magneto sent another bolt of lightning at Corey, which he reflected back at the older man, knocking him down. He extracted Juggernaut from underneath Peter and Kitty, and pulled Magneto, Pyro and Mystique into the air until they were floating in front of him.

"Hear this," he said coldly, glaring at him with his cool blue eyes, "none of you are welcome in this school. Ever! You have hurt my friends and my family, and that is something I cannot tolerate. Right now I am going to teleport you as far away from this school as I possibly can, and you will not come back. If any of you so much as touch the doorknob of this school I promise you I will make what the Phoenix did look like a walk in the park."

Although he was nothing more than a teenager no one doubted a word he said. The young X-Men looked impressed and even Magneto and Mystique looked slightly scared of the young telekinetic.

Then, keeping true to his word, they were gone in a flash of pale blue light. Corey drifted slowly to the ground where he sank down wearily. The rest of the X-Men joined him one by one, exhausted by the fight.

They surveyed the damage that had been done by the ten-minute battle. Columns had been smashed and broken, burns criss-crossed the wood paneling, there were ruts and scars in the smooth mahogany flooring and every bust had been shattered.

"Well, at least no one was seriously injured?" Kitty joked half-heartedly, wanting nothing more than to go to bed and sleep for the next ten years.

"And I don't think the Brotherhood will be coming back thanks to that little speech Corey gave them. And we have a new member," Alice said, pointing at Jamie. She had pretty much highlighted the only good points of the night and no one felt any need to add on to the list of what had gone right.

"Thanks for standing up for me," she whispered in Corey's ear, sneaking him a quick kiss while the others weren't looking. "It was nice of you."

"It was nothing," Corey replied, kissing her back. He hadn't wanted to use his power to attack other people, afraid of what might have happened if he had liked the feeling. But he had needed to protect a friend, and he had. The power hadn't consumed him; he had been in control the entire time. When, and if, there was a next battle, he wouldn't hesitate to use his powers when someone else was trying to hurt him.

Suddenly the door to the basement burst open and a harassed looking Storm appeared, accompanied by Logan, a lady they did not know who appeared to be a doctor and a man whom none of them recognized.

"Are you alright?" Storm cried, seeing the destruction that had occurred. She rushed to the group of exhausted children and examined them one by one, making sure there were no major injuries.

"Was anyone else hurt?" the woman asked. "I am Dr. McTaggert, and I may be able to help," she added seeing their curious expressions.

"Wallflower was hurt," Alice offered, barely whispering the words. "Emma, Psylocke, Sway and she are upstairs, protecting the younger students. You should find her their," she added helpfully although she was so tired she couldn't see straight.

"You're all pretty tired," Storm said gently as Doctor McTaggert rushed up the stairs. "You can tell us what happened tomorrow. Classes will of course be cancelled, so we'll have the meeting around ten," she added upon seeing their stricken faces at the very idea of getting up for a five A.M. meeting.

Slowly they began to file upstairs, so tired that they could barely move but wanting to sleep. The thought of their warm beds was all that pulled them onwards.

"Sleep well," the unknown man called before they had passed through the door. Kitty nearly collapsed when she heard the voice, but luckily Colossus was there to catch her. Rogue turned to look at him with tears in her eyes. Corey and Alice grabbed each other's hands, uncertain of what was happening but realizing it was important nonetheless.

"It can't be," Rogue whispered, tears pouring down her face. "Professor, it can't be…," she sobbed, dissolving into tears.

"Yes Rogue, it is me," the Professor said. Kitty turned around and began to sob into Colossus midsection, unable to keep the tears at bay. Alice and Corey hugged each other as they realized that the man they were talking to was Professor Xavier, a man who had supposedly been killed by the Phoenix.

"Go to sleep," the Professor said soothingly, feeling their exhaustion despite his dramatically weakened telekinesis. "We can talk about it in the morning. Everything will be all right."

Peter supported Kitty through the door because she was too tired to stand on her own. Rogue pushed past Corey and Alice, sad and exhausted as the others and absorbed in her own thoughts.

Corey and Alice stood on the stairs for a few minutes after the others had left, staring down as the Professor talked to Storm and Logan.

"Professor," Corey called to get his attention. The Professor turned his kind face upward, ready to listen to what the young man had to say.

"It's not all going to be all right," Corey said calmly. "Dark things are on the horizon, things that no one can stop. We'll fight our hardest, but it won't matter. None of us will be able to stop it _before_ it happens," Corey said, adding an odd amount of stress to the word _before_. "It won't be our fault," he said cryptically and he walked through the door to the dormitories with Alice clutching his hand tightly.

**So here's the end to chapter six. I'm not sure how the fight seen came out, it was surprisingly tough. I hope you liked it; there is definitely some much darker, more dramatic stuff on the horizon.**

**Thanks DarkAngelmi818, La Noir Rose, dancingelf1986, roguepixie04, and Scarlett Ivy for the reviews. Keep um' coming.**

**Also, I think that Psylocke may have been killed in the movie, but she was only a member of the X-Men and I really wanted her in my story so I thought I'd bend the rules a little.**


	7. VII: Forecast

**Note: I do not own the X-Men or make any form of money off of them.**

**Chapter 7: Forecast**

Rogue slipped under the covers of her bed, not even bothering to take off her shoes or change into pajamas. She was too exhausted to bother with such formalities. All she wanted to do was embrace the sweet oblivion of sleep.

Within seconds Rogue was unconscious, a blessing after the long day. She had recovered her powers, knocked her boyfriend unconscious and been attacked by Magneto, a man who had once tried to use her as a giant battery. Sleep had to be better than her day had been. It wasn't.

_He was sitting on a stool next to Kitty Pryde, wanting desperately to make her feel better. She was so sad, and so pretty. She was so alone, and he wanted to make her feel better._

_He was dating Rogue though, and he couldn't betray her like that. No matter how much he wanted to kiss someone, he loved Rogue, or thought he did. It wasn't her fault she couldn't touch anyone, and he wasn't going to hurt her by kissing someone else._

_But he knew Kitty used to ice skate every winter, and that she hadn't been able to do that since coming to Xavier's. He knew exactly what to do to cheer her up. _

_He told her to get her skates and meet him out by the fountain. When she got there he froze it solid and gave himself "ice" skates. Then he took Kitty's hand and they skated around the fountain together. She even laughed a little bit._

_And, he rationalized; it wasn't as if he was cheating on Rogue. He was doing what any good friend was doing, trying to cheer her up. Rogue would understand. But deep inside he knew what he had done for Kitty was much more than an act of friendship, and he knew that he wouldn't tell Rogue what he had done._

_He was sitting next to Rogue on the couch, pretending to listen to her complain about her day. Usually he would have listened, but Kitty had just walked in with Piotr._

_Kitty and Piotr walked over to the pool table and started a game. He really wanted to go over there and ask Kitty if she wanted to go out. But he knew he wouldn't do that because he was dating Rogue. And he knew Kitty would say no because he was dating Rogue. She was too good of a person to even contemplate going out with him while he had a girlfriend._

_He just wanted to be able to touch someone. Just because Rogue couldn't kiss a boy didn't mean he had to be subjected to a lifetime of not being able to kiss a girl. He thought about breaking up with her right then and there, but knew that it would break her heart, and that was just something he wasn't willing to do for the sake of human contact._

_So he vowed that he would be better to her. What amazed him most was the fact that he had to try to be kind and caring to her. _

_He was walking into her room, expecting her to still be in San Francisco or wherever she was, waiting for the Cure. He received a shock when he saw that she was sitting on her bed, waiting for him._

_He knew without her saying that she had taken the Cure. Just like he knew that she had taken the Cure to be with him, even though she told him she had taken the Cure for her._

_As he embraced her he knew that he couldn't break up with her, no matter how much he wanted to. She had sacrificed who she was just to be with him, and breaking up with her would hurt her more now than ever before._

_And he knew that he would never have given up his powers to be with her, no matter what happened. She was the one who would always be willing to give and to work through their problems, he just wanted to move on. But she had already given up so much, and he vowed that he would try to work through their problems, at least for a few weeks. After that, she was on her own…_

Rogue woke with tears in her eyes as the first rays of dawn streamed through her east-facing window. She wished she had never gone to sleep, just like she wished that she had never taken the Cure.

It had not solved any of her problems. Bobby seemed, if it was possible, even more distanced from her. The other kids in school had hated her. Although very few said it, they considered her a betrayer. She had taken the Cure while they had decided to cope with being a mutant. She was weak.

As she sat in bed, sobbing, the temperature in her room dropped steadily until frost began forming on the windows of her room. The Cure had made things worse for her, and then it had worn off. Now she was changed, her powers were changed.

One touch and she acquired the powers of that mutant. One touch and she acquired their memories. Most of those faded immediately when contact was broken off. Those that didn't had come to haunt her while she slept.

She knew that those dreams about Bobby were, in fact, his memories. She knew that he didn't love her anymore. She knew that they were over, despite what she had gone through. Everything he had gone through for her had been false.

She sighed as she got out of bed, frost forming on the floorboards around her bare feet. She glanced down and sought out the source of the frost, the power she had stolen from Bobby. The frost around her feet and the temperature in the room slowly rose to match what the thermostat said it should be.

She slowly pulled on her clothes, not ready to face the day while she knew that she would never get back to sleep.

Bobby and she were over. He might not know it yet, but she had already come to the decision that they were breaking up.

Who needs that jerk? she thought as she exited the room, locking the door behind her. She made her way slowly to the kitchen, wanting to eat some form of breakfast before the rest of the school had devoured all of the good stuff.

Once there she poured herself a cup of luke-warm water from the tap and grimaced at the taste. As she gripped the glass she concentrated, willing the water's temperature to drop. Slowly it did so until the water was only a few degrees above freezing.

I can defend myself now she thought as she sat down at the counter and drank her water, contemplating what she wanted to eat. I don't need him. We never really belonged together anyways. I can do better.

But as she sat there all alone at the counter the full weight of the night's dreams came back to her and she began to cry again, wishing that she had never had a boyfriend, or that she at least hadn't been so stupid as to believe the Cure would be her salvation.

She lowered her head to the marble countertop and cried, not aware that Logan was standing in the doorway, watching.

xXx

Corey walked Alice to her dorm-room and kissed her goodnight before teleporting to his room. Normally he would have been loathe to use his powers when there was no true need for them, but he had come to the decision that using them as he wished probably wouldn't blow the world up since he had learned control.

As soon as his body hit the mattress he was unconscious, still exhausted from the telepathic battery he had taken earlier that day and a little shocked at just how much power he truly had at his disposal.

_He stared at a woman who had taken the Cure. She was simply cooking pasta, singing to herself. It was the first time since she had acquired her powers that she had dared to sing. With her ability she could alter reality to a center extent, and sometimes that had unforeseen consequences._

_Suddenly the boiling water exploded upward and froze to the ceiling, covering it in a layer of thin ice. _

_The women covered her mouth and slumped down in a corner as she realized that the Cure had worn off, and that singing, the one thing that had brought joy into her life, was the one thing that she could no longer do._

_A father was playing football with his son. As he threw the football to his soon it suddenly exploded, knocking both his son and him off of their feet._

_As the man stumbled to his son, he saw that the young boy had hit his head on the sidewalk and was bleeding to death._

_Two girls were shopping for clothes in a large shopping mall. They were having fun, laughing as the other tried on silly hats or ugly tops. Both girls' had had mutant abilities that had prevented them from doing this kind of thing, in public._

_One girl began to turn a slight shade of violet and her ears elongated and tapered to a point until they resembled elf ears. The other girl's hair turned a shade of green closely resembling that of a highlighter._

_The shopkeeper turned to see the newly transformed girls and screamed. The pretty violet girl grabbed the green-haired girl and dragged her through a portal that had suddenly appeared in the shop._

_Rogue was twisting and turning in her bed, tormented by the memories of her boyfriend, Bobby Drake._

_Images rose from her. Images of Bobby sitting by Kitty Pryde, of Kitty and him skating on an icy pond. And with these images came Bobby's feelings: feelings of desire for Kitty and feelings of sorrow and regret about Rogue and her power._

_As the last of the memories faded Rogue woke, tears in her eyes. She knew that her boyfriend no longer loved her._

_A cruel man stood upon a hilltop, looking down at a sprawling, soot-covered city where huge mechanisms and machines moved and strained. An equally cruel looking man whose cape had a red spider emblazoned on it turned and…_

Corey woke with a start, the images rushing through him and making his eyes tearing with their emotional pain. Slowly the emotional pain receded, although the images and the memory of their pain remained.

Sitting up he tried to recall the last image, but no matter how hard he tried, it eluded him.

When the first rays of sunlight pierced his window he silently slipped from beneath the covers, glad that Storm had not yet found a roommate for him.

Quietly, to avoid waking any of the neighboring rooms he pulled on loose pair of jeans and a t-shirt and grabbed the messenger bag that held the laptop his parents had given him before sending him to Xavier's. Before exiting he took a quick glance in the mirror and would have dropped the messenger bag if it had not been over his shoulder.

The reflection staring back at him was the same as it had been the night before. The same pale complexion peppered with light brown freckles. The same small nose, blue-grey eyes and blue-rimmed glasses. But his hair, which had been a dazzling shade of red-orange from his Irish heritage, was a lustrous shade of blue. Even his eyebrows were blue.

Before he raced out of the room he grabbed one of the winter caps his mother had given that covered his hair and ears and jammed it on. He rushed from the rooming, closing the door as quietly as he could before rushing to the kitchen.

He almost backpedaled when he saw Rogue still sobbing on the counter, but figured he was no worse of than she. So he grabbed a bowl of cereal off of the fridge and milk and poured himself a bowl of cereal.

Once seated he opened his laptop, planning to do some research while no one was awake. He had planned to do some research on Charles Xavier, the man who had supposedly died but then showed up late last night. Now his new goal was to find information on latent mutations in those who already had a pre-existing mutation. He was, however, distracted by the still crying Rogue.

"Are you okay?" he asked, shutting down his laptop. If his dreams were any indication then Rogue was pretty upset.

"I don't really feel like talking Corey," she sniffled, not looking at him. "You seem nice enough, but I don't really know you…and I shouldn't unload my problems on you."

"It's about Bobby," he mumbled through a mouthful of cereal, looking meaningfully at her. "You want, no, you need to, break up with him."

"How did…did…did you know?" she sobbed, looking at him through red, puffy eyes. It was obvious that she had been crying for quite awhile, and that she desperately needed to talk to someone.

"I had a dream last night, just like you," he said, looking woefully at his now empty bowl. He pushed it aside and looked at Rogue, wishing that there was someone else to do this. "I'm kinda telepathic," he explained, tapping the side of his head. "For some reason I seem particularly connected to those who took the Cure."

"So, does that mean you saw everything? You saw all of those memories of Bobby and Kitty…and me," she asked, her voice almost inaudible, as if she was afraid that someone would overhear their conversation.

"Yes," Corey replied, taking his bowl and spoon and placing them in the school's commercial dishwasher. "And for what it's worth," he turned to look at her, his eyes showing the sorrow and pain he felt for her, "I think you should dump Bobby. If he didn't have the strength to figure out what was wrong with the relationship, if he couldn't figure out how to make you feel loved even if you couldn't touch him, he didn't, or doesn't, deserve you," the young teen stated matter-of-factly, trying to give her advice, bolster her confidence and console her all at the same time. "There will be other, better, people in your life."

Rogue looked at him sadly, knowing that he meant well but at the same time knowing he would never understand her position. She was one of those mutants, like the ones who looked different or had abilities that separated them from the rest of humanity, who could never be accepted or truly known by anyone because of the nature of her powers. She was alone because she could not touch anyone, just like others were alone because they did not look like anyone else.

As if Corey read her mind he removed the winter cap he had been wearing, revealing his lustrous indigo hair. In the sunlight it became apparent that his hair was not a solid color, like Mystique's red hair, but was actually a deep blue with highlights of lighter and darker blues. The effect, although strange, looked quite handsome with Corey's pale complexion.

"Oh my god," Rogue rushed over too the young teenager, concerned for him. When she had left him last night his hair had been orange, a color that was not altogether unusual considering his heritage. His blue hair was something else altogether, and made him easily identifiable as a mutant. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure," he shrugged, avoiding her gaze. "I think it must be some sort of latent mutation or something. I think the Professor might know more."

Rogue rushed over and embraced him, sorry for what had happened to him and how he had tried to comfort her even though he had his own problems to deal with. She just wanted to thank him, for trying to help her even though he barely knew her.

Kitty walked into the kitchen, stifling a yawn. Piotr and Alice followed close behind, both looking exhausted. They all stopped in their tracks when they saw Corey and Rogue hugging.

Kitty and Piotr, who would have never expected Rogue to cheat on Bobby, were flabbergasted. Alice, although she had been dating Corey for less the forty-eight hours, was vaguely jealous.

When Rogue turned around, her eyes still puffy with tears, Alice immediately looked down, ashamed of her jealousy for what had clearly been a hug of friendship. Kitty rushed over and hugged her friend, careful not to touch the inch or so of bare skin that she had left exposed.

"Are you okay Rogue?" Piotr asked, his Russian accent coming thickly with exhaustion. "What happened?"

"It's nothing," Rogue replied, wiping her eyes. She pulled away from Kitty's embrace, not angry with the girl but not willing to confide in her when, even though it was through no fault of her own, she was partially to blame for her sorrow.

Kitty stared into the other girl's face, trying to determine what the problem was when Alice rushed over to Corey and took his hand, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"What happened?" she ran a hand through his indigo hair. When he had left her at her dorm room the previous night his hair had been a brilliant orange-brown, but overnight it had shifted to a deep, shiny indigo. Even his skin seemed paler, and looked as if it might have a light blue tint, though it was difficult to tell in the early morning sunlight.

Kitty and Piotr turned and gasped when they saw his blue hair, not entirely sure what had occurred during the night to mark such a serious transformation. Rogue looked at him sadly; keenly aware of how such a mutation would affect his life.

"I'm not sure," Corey replied, pulling Alice to his side. "I was going to ask Professor Xavier about it later."

"You could just ask him now bub," Wolverine stepped from the shadows. He looked more agitated than usual, but was staring at Rogue with a look that could not have been taken for anything other than concern. "The Professor wants to see you all now."

"But…," Kitty stuttered, "the meeting was supposed to be later, around nine or so."

"It was," Logan replied, still staring at Rogue, "until it turned out you were all conscious at this inhuman hour. He thought you would all be passed out for longer. Obviously he's been gone for too long."

"Nice hair by the way," he smirked at Corey, unable to resist the temptation to mess with him. He turned around and walked to the door of the kitchen, but before leaving he yelled over his shoulder, "And Iceman is awake and in the Professor's office, just so you know."

Only Corey and Alice noticed how Rogue tensed up, Kitty and Piotr were staring incredulously at the door which Wolverine had just exited through. Corey reached out to put a comforting hand on Rogue's shoulder but a warning look from Alice told him that Rogue was not in the mood to be touched.

"Come on ya'll," Rouge said as she strode after Wolverine, not willing to let anyone see the pain on her face.

Kitty and Piotr stood there, mystified by Wolverine's anger, by Rogue's sudden change of personality after the mention of Iceman's name, and Corey's sudden transformation.

Corey had told Alice the basics via the telepathic bond that had formed yesterday, not wanting to say anything about Rogue's predicament, or his, out loud in front of Piotr or Kitty. Piotr would worry, sure, but Kitty would almost certainly blame herself for Rogue's pain, so they merely followed her out of the kitchen, neither ready to admit anything to the others.

xXx

Rogue was still standing outside of Xavier's office when the others caught up. Alice and Corey saw how nervous she was, afraid to even turn the handle and face what lay on the other side of the door. Alice gave Rogue a brief, reassuring hug while Corey opened the door. She gave both of them a grateful glance before walking in, her head held high.

Kitty looked at the curiously, uncertain of what she had missed and what was making Rogue so nervous, although she had an idea. She sensed it was somehow related to something that had happened between Bobby and her, although she was not certain herself if anything had happened between them.

"Hello," the Professor greeted them enthusiastically, hugging Rogue, Kitty and Alice and shaking Piotr and Corey's hand. The students who had been there when Xavier had been "alive" had never seen him so happy, and the new students were shocked by how enthusiastic and excited he seemed.

Storm was sitting in one of the armchairs that had been arranged in a circle around the Professor's desk. Logan, Angel and Jamie were both leaning against the wall, Logan unwilling to sit, Angel standing to give more room for the others and Jamie uncertain of his place. Hank McCoy was seated in an armchair across from Storm. Moira was seated behind the desk, next to and slightly behind the Professor's seat. Bobby was seated on a loveseat, and looked up expectantly when Rogue and the others entered.

Rogue, however, sat across from him on a couch with Corey and Alice, not even glancing up at Bobby. Kitty, not certain of what was wrong with Rogue but no wanting to anger her any further, sat on the couch next to Bobby's with Piotr.

Storm and Angel caught sight of how stand-offish Rogue was acting towards her boyfriend, and of Corey's newly blue hair, and looked at each other, concern etched in both of their features. Moira glanced at the Professor curiously, but did not know enough about the students to comment.

"How are you all this morning?" the Professor asked as he took his seat. He sensed Rogue's resentment of Bobby, Corey's anxiety, Alice's concern and Bobby's, Kitty's and Piotr's curiosity.

"Fine," Rogue and Corey snapped in unison before anyone else could respond.

"What's wrong baby?" Bobby asked, getting up and walking over to Rogue. But before he had even gotten near her Alice and Corey had both stood up, holding hands. A translucent blue shield surrounded the couch and blue sparks skipped between the fingers of Alice's free hand.

"Bobby," Rogue said, standing and gently motioning for Alice and Corey to sit, although she was thankful they had intervened. "We're over," she said, her voice unnaturally calm despite the emotions roiling within her.

Before Bobby could protest she plowed on, wanting to end the entire affair even though most of her teachers and closest friends were watching. "I know you don't love me anymore. You were falling out of love with me before the Cure, and were even more distant afterwards."

She looked away then, unable to look him in the eye anymore. "I had dreams last night, of your memories…of you and Kitty. I know how you felt about her. You wanted her to be more than a friend, even though she didn't want that from you. She just needed someone to be kind to her, and you wanted more. I don't blame you Kitty," Rogue told the young woman kindly when she saw her head go down and tears began to pour from her eyes.

"Bobby," Rogue continued, looking into his eyes and seeing the same pain and exhaustion she had seen in his eyes long before, and after, the Cure but had been unwilling to see it for what it really was, "you didn't want to be with me when I had my powers. Then, I took the Cure…gave up everything I had, everything I was, to have a chance at a normal life, a chance with you…and you still weren't happy. We can't be together Bobby, and I don't think we were ever meant to be together."

Clearly done speaking, and exhausted by her effort, Rogue sat. Corey and Alice sat on either side of her, Alice hugging while Corey tried to comfort her. Bobby just stood there, shocked by what had just happened, until a growl from Wolverine told him that if he tried to get back with Rogue, or if he did or said anything to her at that moment, he wouldn't live to see lunch.

"Clearly I have missed many things," the Professor said after several minutes, wishing that his telepathy were up to par. Then he might have sensed Rogue's feeling towards Bobby. "Now, I would like you all to tell me what has happened in my…absence."

Storm and Logan began, telling about the Battle of Alcatraz and Jean Grey's death. A tear rolled down the Professor's cheek as Logan told him what had happened, and what he had done to the woman he loved. The Storm filled him in with the details of the school and how Corey and Alice had come there.

Then it was up to Corey to tell about Rogue's telepathic message and how he had "felt" the Cure wear off on mutants across the world. This news clearly shocked the Professor, who had believed that the boy was no more than a low-level telepath but who obviously had much greater power than even he realized. Rogue was called upon to personally tell the part pertaining to how her powers had returned, an event that was particularly painful for her but keenly interested Dr. McTaggert and the Professor.

All of the teens told about Magneto's attack on the school, and then Rogue told about Bobby's memories, something she didn't go into much detail about, and her extended powers after which Corey told them of his dreams and awaking to blue hair.

"What's the problem?" Corey gasped, out of breath from the long narration. He pointed at his blue hair and almost unnoticeably blue skin. Then, shockingly, he pulled his hair back just a little to reveal that his ears had slightly elongated and were tapering down to a point.

"Oh my god," Kitty said, torn between amusement at Corey's elf ears and horror at his transformation. In the end amusement won out and a small giggle escaped her lips.

"Oh yes, it's very funny. Make fun of Frodo," Corey said sarcastically, taking his seat beside Alice. During the course of the story Rogue had switched with Corey so that the couple could sit together and hold hands.

"Well," Moira stood and walked next to Charles, "there are several possibilities. One is that you have a continuing mutation, much like Emma Frost. It is rare, but possible. However, for you it is unlikely because the mutation would have manifested over time, rather than all at one time."

After they had had sufficient time to digest her first option she continued. "Or you had a latent mutation, one which did not manifest itself when your original mutation appeared, brought on by the battle with Magneto, although that seems unlikely to me as well."

Everyone in the room looked thoughtful, wondering what her third option would be. "The third possibility is that you had some form of a latent mutation…which was activated due to your odd connection to the Cured," she said, using the term for the mutants who had received the Cure.

"I know it hardly seems possible. But consider it. You may have had some latent mutation, much as those who acquired new powers after the Cure, and your connection to them acted as a catalyst to those mutations. Just like the Cure acted as a catalyst on the other mutants," she said, drowning out the teens, and teachers, protests. "It is the most likely possibility."

"So…there's nothing that can be done?" Corey asked, although he felt that he already knew the answer.

"Short of allowing Rogue to drain your powers and put you into a persistent vegetative state," Dr. McTaggert replied, not unkindly. She did not want to dash the boy's hopes, but knew that getting his hopes up would be even crueler.

"It's okay," Alice squeezed his had, "I think you're kind'a hot as an elf, Frodo." She joked, kissing him. He smiled at her attempt to cheer him, and found that he was not quite as depressed as he thought he would be at the new that his condition was permanent.

"Hank has news that is nearly as bad, if not worse, than the Cure wearing off," Xavier cut in, happy to be with his students and overjoyed that they seemed mostly unaffected by the traumatic events of yesterday.

"What could be worse than yesterday?" Rogue asked, curious despite the knot of fear that had coalesced in her stomach. Her kiss with Bobby, Corey's face contorted with pain and Bobby's memories stood out poignantly in her mind, not to mention Magneto's attack.

"It appears," Beast said, standing and popping a disk into the Professor's computer. The TV in the corner flickered on, filled with the contents of the disk. They appeared to be the schematics for something.

"It appears that Boliver Trask has made a deal with Angel's father, Warren Worthington Junior, to make a line of mutant exterminators. A line of robots called the Sentinels," Beast explained gravely, flicking to a diagram of the robots. From the scale it appeared the robot would be anywhere from twenty to thirty feet tall, and it looked extremely deadly.

"You can't be serious," Kitty stood, her fist clenched at her side. Colossus stood behind her, his hands placed firmly on her shoulders. The young girl looked close to tears at the news, and even Colossus had paled visibly.

"Professor, they can't do this," Rogue added, wishing she could hold Bobby's hand but knowing that path was closed to her. She saw Angel staring at her in concern and looked at him quizzically. She was saved from having to ask him what he wanted by Logan's hand on her shoulder. Still, the way he had looked at her, his eyes filled with concern and care had felt…good.

"It is not a 'they', not really," Beast said, clearly as unnerved as they all were by this new threat. "It is merely Trask and Worthington. The government knows nothing of this. I discovered this in a rather…unorthodox manner," Beast admitted, switching off the TV.

"You mean you were in someplace you weren't supposed to be in," Alice guessed, her intuition telling her what he had not said. Beast merely nodded his ascent.

"These are not ready yet, but they will be before Christmas. They will most probably be used on Christmas, as a way to maximize the terror in the mutant community," Beast said gravely, looking at each of them in turn.

Alice and Corey were holding tightly onto each other, scared despite their impressive arsenal of powers. Wolverine was holding Storm's hands tightly, as were Kitty and Piotr, neither conscious of their actions. Rogue and Angel were staring at each other, both of their bodies tense with concern. Bobby was merely sitting in his seat, still in shock that Rogue had actually broken up with him. Moira was standing behind Charles, her hand resting on his shoulder, both to offer her support and to offer him support.

"As much as I hate to say this," Professor Xavier said, his new, younger face seeming as old as his former one with the tension the news had brought, "it is time to prepare for war."

**Hmmm…again, I thank everyone who reviewed. Thanks dancingelf1986, Scarlett Ivy, La Noir Rose, DarkAngelmi818, and RoguePixie04. Keep those reviews coming.**

**Sorry it took so long to get this new chapter up. I was just a little busy, and a family member was a little under the weather.**

**Oh, I need a little bit of feedback, for whenever you review. I'm trying to think of codenames, for Alice and Corey, to put on their profiles (which I will post, so that you can see their powers and levels and stuff). Right now I was thinking Indigo (for Corey) and Circe (like the Greek witch) for Alice. Any ideas you have are appreciated.**

**Oh, and I know my chapter are getting longer, but I'm getting more confident and getting more ideas so they just kinda expanded naturally. But this is about as long as an individual chapter should get.**

** Also, tell me what you think of the new summary. I thought it was a little more descriptive and told more about the story. I also changed it to drama/romace because as the story goes on I'm starting to focus on not only the dangers, but also the relationships.  
**

**Have fun!**


	8. VIII: Dream

**Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men or any of the characters**

**Chapter 8: Dream**

Corey sat on the cold metal in the medical bay of Xavier's School, hugging his knees to his chest. He rocked slightly back and forth, whimpering occasionally. Over the past week his visions of the Cured, those who had taken the mutant "Cure", had spilled out of the realm of sleep and now constantly haunted him.

"Corey, do you want me to try and bind your powers again?" Alice asked, sliding onto the table next to him while avoiding skin contact. His visions had become so overpowering that when he made skin contact with anyone some of his visions transferred in his mind's effort to maintain his sanity.

"No," he sobbed quietly, burying his head into his knees. "They'll just come back worse if we try that. Just…just wait for Dr. McTaggert and Professor Xavier."

Alice looked at Corey, clearly concerned. Her hands clenched the edge of metal table, unconsciously shifting its polished silver surface through every color of the rainbow as she did so.

"Hello," Xavier said genially as he walked into the room. Moira walked in behind him, a small tablet PC in her arms. He considered asking how Corey was feeling, but when he saw him rocking on the table he drew his own conclusions.

Moira bustled over to the medical bay's computer and connected her tablet to it. A double helix instantly popped up, a small portion of which was highlighted and enlarged.

"Have you figured out what's wrong?" Alice stood, compulsively straightening her skirt and altering its color out of nervousness.

"We believe we have," Moira smiled at the girl, wanting to reassure her. Corey was far beyond caring whether they had discovered what was wrong with him at that point and was merely struggling to maintain his sanity.

"Would you like to explain, Moira?" Xavier asked, "Or would you like me to?"

"I think you should field this one Xavier, I'll take the next one," she replied, barely comprehending the complexities of what he was asking her to explain herself, let alone explain it to two fifteen year old who were emotionally rattled as it was.

"All right, where to begin?" Xavier asked himself quietly. He remained silent for several seconds before looking directly at Corey. "As everyone in this room is aware you are an extremely powerful telekinetic, telepath and clairvoyant. In fact, the upper limits of your psionic powers are unknown, but they surpass that of anyone alive on this earth."

Corey had stopped rocking to listen to Xavier, although his eyes were as wild and unfocused as they had been for the past several days. But Alice had the weird sense that he understood every word the Professor was saying.

"Just as everyone is aware of the persecution of mutants who are unable to hide their mutations," the Professor continued. Alice nodded, involuntarily glancing at Corey's indigo hair and pointed ears. "This is why you unconsciously repressed the segment of the mutant gene that would be visible to the naked eye."

"What?" Corey and Alice asked in unison, the former shocked out of his near catatonia by the impossibility of the statement while the latter was just shocked.

"Your subconscious knew the persecution you would face if this part of your mutant gene was active," Xavier repeated slowly, allowing the teens time to process the information, "so it used your telekinesis to repress that part of your gene and then placed potent telepathic barriers in the way to make sure you never discovered that part of your power was constantly being diverted to repress the gene."

"So what's going on then?" Alice asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. Her skirt, which had been shifting slowly from color to color was now a rapidly swirling mass of shades and hues.

"I'm not sure," Xavier admitted, stroking his chin. "My best guess would be that Corey unconsciously felt guilty for repressing part of who he is and wished to release that part of him but lacked the power to…so he formed a connection with those in a similar circumstance, the Cured, in an effort to break-down the telepathic barriers. Unfortunately his conscious mind is fighting this change and is drawing out what should have been a relatively quick process."

"So what are you going to do?" Corey asked, slowly slipping back into the catatonia into which he had briefly risen out of.

"With your permission I'm going to put your conscious mind entirely to sleep and allow your subconscious to do its job," Xavier said, already making the necessary preparations in his own mind.

"Whatever," Corey replied, not even bothering to look up.

"I promise this won't hurt a bit," Xavier assured, gently pressing his hands on both sides of the young teenager's head.

"Depends on who's in Wonderland," Corey drawled as his eyes glazed over and then shut.

xXx

"_Hello," Corey called, scanning the wreckage for someone, anyone, who would answer him, "Is anybody there?"_

"_No need to shout Corey," Rogue replied, stepping from behind a broken wall. She was wearing a brown tank-top that was virtually the same color as the blasted landscape around her, and would have been incredibly hard to spot if it had not been for her single lock of snow white hair. "I'm right here."_

"_And where is here? What is this place?" Corey gestured at the broken wall, the pillars, shattered marble and broken busts. Everything was a dingy brown, as if some great explosion had covered it with dirt. But even under a layer of filth where he was standing became instantly recognizable._

"_No!' he sobbed, sinking to the floor. "What happened here, what happened to Xavier's?"_

"_Nothing," Rogue replied calmly, kneeling next to him. "This isn't Xavier's, so nothing could have happened to it," she explained to him, seeing his scared, searching gaze._

"_Then where are we?" Corey asked, his mind unable to accept that he was not sitting in a condemned Xavier's, even though he knew that less than a second ago he had been sitting in a medical bay, barely able to hear himself think over the rush of voices from those who had taken the Cure._

"_About one hundred years in the future," Rogue said, cocking her head to one side. "Actually, in your mind, in the future. It's hard to explain, English doesn't really have the proper verb tenses for time travel or precognition."_

"_One hundred years?" Corey managed to gasp, his indigo eyes swirling with fear. "But I'm not that powerful of a clairvoyant, my whole deal is telekinesis."_

"_Wrong," Rogue replied, gently stroking his cheek and then pulling her hand away. "You are possibly the most powerful clairvoyant in the world, rivaled only by the seer Destiny. Everyone in this time knows that."_

"_But, you can't be one hundred years in the future; you look like you're only sixteen still. And this can't be the future, not this doomed, blasted place. The Sentinels sound bad, but they can't be this destructive!" Corey cried, gesturing at her, and then at the ruined landscape. "It just can't be!"_

"_Wrong on all counts," Rogue sighed sadly, standing up and taking his hands. "I'm not in the future. In fact, the Rogue you know will be dead before next Christmas, just like all of the other X-Men. And this is the future, at least in one possible timeline. But it's not caused by the Sentinels; it's caused by someone far more deadly."_

_Corey looked at Rogue, speechless. She was standing there, telling him that this was what the world would be in one hundred years, but she would be dead before the age of twenty-one, and that the Sentinels, the greatest threat to mutant kind, was not the cause. It was just impossible._

"_You're lying," Corey hissed, stepping away from her. "Why would I have a vision of you, in the future, if you're already dead? And why you? I barely know you, why isn't Alice talking to me? She's my girlfriend. And what does all of this have to do with my mutation?"_

"_Listen," Rogue hissed, pulling him close to her face, "there isn't much time, and he's coming. This little message is being given to you by mutants in the future. You won't remember most of it, and what you do with be nothing more than a vague feeling when you look at someone you care about who is going to die, or hear a statement about the future."_

_Corey looked away, thoroughly chastised. Whatever was going on, he didn't think she was lying, and it seemed important. _

"_What I'm about to say you will remember, all though it will make little sense to you until all seems lost," Rogue once again took his hands in hers, comforting him like a sister comforts a little brother during a storm._

"_The mutants are using Rogue as an avatar because in the end, it will be she who matters most, and it will be she who drives you to the solution if the circumstances are right," Rogue said slowly, as if reciting something a teacher had made her memorize. "In the end, when all seems lost and you wish to comfort the one who shares your heart, it is her you must go to."_

_Corey looked deeply into her eyes, willing to see some small piece of her that was lying, that this was only a figment of his imagination, but all he saw was the truth, and a deep, terrible sorrow._

"_I'm sorry this burden has been placed on you," Rogue said quietly, looking away. "That is why I will tell you that the future is responsible for the repression of your mutation. They knew about they Cure, and about your power level, so they took steps to make sure your conscious mind would be put entirely under at some point to give you this message. After this, your visions of the future will be more…prosaic. I really am sorry for any pain this has caused you."_

"_Why are you sorry? This isn't your fault, and going with what you told me, you didn't even exist until the Professor put me under, and you won't exist once I'm awake," Corey said, feeling her sorrow. _

"_I am real, in your mind. I have emotions, and feelings, and a past. I'm a messenger, gifted with the knowledge of all of the mutants who wished to communicate with you, but in your head I'm also a person," Rogue said simply, kissing him on the cheek. Rosy light was beginning to filter through the crack in the wall behind her, surrounding her in a gentle halo._

"_Sun is coming up," she whispered in his ear, hugging him fiercely, "time to go back through the looking glass."_

xXx

Rogue stared down at Kitty and Piotr who were kissing on the bench next to the fountain. Although she was not aware of it, tears were flowing down her cheeks as she stood there, watching her two friends sitting exactly where she and Bobby had sat weeks earlier.

"Are you okay?" Angel asked quietly, his feathers rustling slightly as he walked up behind her. She jumped slightly, shocked at how quietly he had crept up behind her and a little angry that he had seen her crying.

"I'm fine," Rogue lied, her voice cracking. She wiped her eyes quickly on her sleeve and turned to face the older man. "I just had something in my eye."

"That is the oldest cover-up in the book," Angel teased, moving slightly closer. He was so close that she could smell his cologne, mixed with the scent of baby powder, probably from whatever he used to keep his wings clean. It was new, and Rogue found it rather intoxicating.

"As you already know I just broke up with my boyfriend, I think I have a right to be a little upset," Rogue countered breathily, her nose and throat clogged from crying.

"Really, from what I hear you two were over a while ago. Are you sure you're not upset about the fact that you lied to yourself for so long? Or that you took the Cure for someone who didn't love you? Or that your powers came and you just realized how much being a mutant meant to you?" Angel pressed, looking deeply into her eyes. He took another step closer until she was almost touching his bare chest.

Rogue looked up into his eyes and saw the same sadness she felt. He felt the same sorrow: at not being able to truly be part of the world, of being made an outcast by your power, and even at not being able to be with someone because of his mutation. She felt a connection with him in a way that she had never felt connected to Bobby.

"Is there an all of the above answer?" Rogue stepped slightly closer until her body was pressed tightly against his. "Because that's the one I think I need."

"Hmmm, I think I may need to come up with a new multiple choice test," Angel joked, looking deeply into her eyes. He bent his neck slightly, unconsciously trying to kiss her, but before he even got close a gloved hand stopped him.

"No," Rogue said firmly, feeling his lips through her paper thin gloves. In less than a week she felt the pain that came with not being able to touch anyone, of being completely isolated and alone. "I can't."

"Is that why you took the Cure?" Angel asked, taking her hand. "Because you can't touch?"

Rogue stared at his hand for a second, wondering what it really felt like, and knowing that she would probably never know. "Yes," she whispered, folding his hand gently against his chest. "My mutation makes it so that I absorb life-force on skin contact. Normal humans are put into a persistent vegetative state, and mutants I absorb their powers. Before the Cure the power absorption was temporary, now it's permanent. It was uncontrollable before…and after."

"Are you sure?" Angel bent in closer, almost whispering now. "Are you sure it's uncontrollable? Have you even tried to control it since the Cure?" he asked, trying once again to kiss her. Once again she blocked him.

"No, and I don't plan on testing my powers anytime soon," she replied, whispering too. "My first boyfriend is in a coma, and my second I recently knocked unconscious for twelve hours. I really don't think testing it is a good idea."

"You're right," Angel nodded, pulling away slightly. Then, in one fluid motion, he wrapped his arms around her and planted his lips firmly on hers.

Rogue tried to pull away, but found that he was too strong. She was beginning to curse the time she had not had her powers, because that meant she did not have to take any of the Danger Room sessions, and was a little out of shape as a result.

She closed her eyes and concentrated. She could already feel Angel's energy beginning to flow into her body, and knew that Angel would die if she did not do anything. She concentrated on where her body met his, willing an invisible barrier to stop the flow. At first nothing happened, but slowly the flow died. She even found that once the barrier just beneath her skin had been erected she did not even have to concentrate to maintain it.

Her eyes slowly flickered open to Angel's muscular chest. But she slowly raised her head until she was looking into his deep blue eyes.

"You were right," he smiled at her, bending in to kiss her again, "that was a really bad idea."

xXx

Corey's eyes flickered open, the bright florescent lights temporarily blinding him. As his eyes adjusted to the blinding white he became aware that at some point in his sleep he had been laid along the table, his shirt removed and the wires to several machines strapped to his chest.

After several minutes he sat up, willing the wires off as he did so. Corey glanced around the room which was almost entirely empty save Alice, who was sitting in the corner of the room reading.

"Hey Alice," Corey croaked, his throat incredibly dry. "How's it going?"

"Corey!" she jumped out of the chair, her book dematerializing as she did so. She ran to the table and embraced him tightly. "You're okay," she sobbed quietly into his ear. "I was so worried."

"How long have I been out?" Corey sat up slowly as the room spun around his head.

"A day and a half," Alice supplied, releasing him and stepping back. As he stood up her eyes roamed from his feet to his chest and finally to his face, fear and joy intermingled on her face. "What was it like?"

"I don't really remember," he responded slowly, sauntering over to the counter and checking through the drawers and cabinets. "It's all a blur. I think I was in the mansion, talking to someone...a girl I think…and she said something _like in the end, when all seems lost and it is the one who shares your heart you wish to comfort, you must go to her_. I think it was talking about you…and Rogue," he looked up, confusion clouding his sharp features. "That doesn't make sense, does it?"

"Not really," Alice replied, walking over to him. "But then again you've been having visions of people whose lives have been turned upside down by the Cure, you've barely slept for thirty minutes straight in week, why wouldn't your dreams be a little strange?" she asked as she embraced him from behind. "What are you looking for?"

"My shirt and stuff," he said absent mindedly, rummaging through another drawer. "I can't find it."

"I took it upstairs," she whispered in his ear, pressing tightly against him and biting his ear gently.

"You'd better not let Xavier or Logan see us doing this," he teased, turning around and pressing against her. "Did you at least bring me something to change into?"

"No, it didn't. I didn't sleep well last night in that chair and my mind is a little fuzzy. Besides, I think you should probably grab something from the team lockers, I don't think your old clothes will fit well," Alice said quietly as she pulled away from him.

"What do you mean?"

"Look in the mirror," she replied, blushing slightly.

Corey walked across the room to the full length mirror, realizing as he did so that he did not need his glasses anymore. But the image in the mirror was almost unrecognizable, at least below the head. Before he had been thin, although not particularly muscular or athletic, but apparently his remaining mutations had dealt not only with his mind, but his body.

The vast majority of his body fat appeared to have been metabolized, which only accentuated the new muscle that had suddenly grown overnight. And his skin, which had been pale and heavily freckled, was now a pale, enchanting blue.

"I've got to say that the whole bookish, little brother, quiet thing you had going before made you pretty adorable but now you're hot in an bookish, athletic, elf way," she said, coming up behind him, a large smile plastered on her face.

"Thanks," Corey replied wryly, crossing his arms across his chest. "But do you think we could find me a shirt and some socks, we're underground and the tiles floors are pretty cold."

"Sure," she took his arm and began leading him to the doorway when a shout broke the relative silence.

"Professor Xavier," the familiar voice of Syren called, her voice amplified by her mutant ability.

"What's going on?" Alice asked. Corey's eyes glowed with soft blue light, the only sign that he was actively using his powers of clairvoyance. Fear and confusion invaded his eyes as the light faded.

**Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, but I had a lot going on. And school's starting soon, so I thought that I would forewarn everyone that it might take me longer to get new chapter up that usual (though not this long I hope). I hope you like this chapter.**

**Just so you know, the next two chapter are character profiles on Alice and Corey (which may be updated periodically with new things or things I've forgotten). People have asked questions about their abilities and power levels and stuff, so I thought I would give some background.**

**Thanks to lunafan, DarkAngelmi818, Kari Lynn Crain, Scarlett Ivy, La Noir Rose, dancingelf1986 and roguepixie04 for the reviews.**

**Thanks AshCarroll aka ShadowDiva, CelticHero, Hawaiian-plumeria, Kari Lynn Crain, Leah, lunafan, roguepixie04, Sessywuver and songbirdJC for adding me to your alerts**

**Thanks dancingelf1986, DarkAngelmi818 and Kari Lynn Craine for adding me to your favorites.**

**I think that's all the thanks you's. I hope you like the chapter. Please review.**


	9. Character Profile: Corey Aldred

Name: Corey Aldred  
Nickname: None  
Codename: Indigo  
Gender: Male  
Age: 15  
Birthday: November 5, 1991  
Team: X-Men  
Level: Level 5 

Height: 5' 11"  
Weight: 130 lbs. (later 175 lbs. after latent genes activated)  
Hair Color: Brown-orange  
Hair Style/Length: No style, short  
Eye Color: Blue-grey  
Other Facial Features: Freckles  
Body Shape: Thin, not very athletic  
Style: T-shirts, jeans, sweat pants, shorts; mostly blue  
Special Belongings: Laptop, a notebook

Favorite Food: Pizza  
Favorite Color: Blue  
Favorite Music: Pop-rock, show-tunes  
Quirks: Meditates daily, likes show-tunes, doesn't like to use his powers on others  
Fears: Losing control of his powers, losing the ones he loves  
Hobbies: Reading, writing, meditating, practicing his powers

Known Family: Mary Aldred (mother), James Aldred (father), Brian Aldred (brother), Lloyd Aldred (grandfather), Anna Aldred (grandmother), Tom Accacia (grandfather), Loren Accacia (grandmother)  
Friendships: Rogue, Bobby, Kitty, Piotr, Emma Frost, Sway  
Romantic Intrests: Alice  
Rivalry: None

Powers: Telekinesis to an unknown degree (as powerful as a Phoenix but his fear of losing control of his powers generally limits him to using them only as powerfully as a Class 4), phasing and teleportation (as extensions of his telekinesis), ability to increase or decrease the kinetic energy (temperature) in an object, pyrokinesis, cryokinesis, low-level telepathy, clairvoyance. After having his latent mutant abilities activated his body metabolized fat at an enhanced rate and built muscle with no need to exercise. He also has true or perfect memory and can perform complicated calculations or recall facts extremely quickly. Also his telepathic and clairvoyant powers were greatly enhanced, as were his telekinetic abilities.

Weaknesses: Fear of losing control of his powers, pain, strong emotions

Personality: A nice and kind person, though he has become withdrawn since acquiring his mutant abilities. In order to control them he has to meditate daily to control his emotions he has to meditate daily and is often seen as gloomy or cold due to his intense control. Deep inside he is just like every other teenager and tries to be happy and have fun despite the limitations imposed by his powers.

Background: Corey is the eldest son of an upper middle-class family and a third generation mutant. His grandfather on his father's side possessed an accelerated healing factor while his grandmother on his mother's side possessed low-level telekinesis. His mother possesses slight precognitive abilities and his father possesses thermokinetic abilities. Corey is a gifted student and a black belt in tae kwon do.


	10. Chapter 10: Alice Circi

Name: Alice Circi  
Nickname: None  
Codename: Circe  
Gender: Female  
Age: 15  
Birthday: January 1, 1991  
Team: X-Men  
Level: Level 5

Height: 5' 4"  
Weight: 130 lbs.  
Hair Color: Dark Brown  
Hair Style/Length: A little longer than shoulder, curly  
Eye Color: Violet  
Other Facial Features: Freckles  
Body Shape: A little husky but well-formed  
Style: Casual, usually ankle-length skirts or jeans with a skirt  
Special Belongings: An ornate mirror, cell phone

Favorite Food: Bourbon-street chicken  
Favorite Color: Violet  
Favorite Music: Classical, opera  
Quirks: Likes opera, enjoys reading, when she gets nervous she changes the colors of objects around her  
Fears: Being alone, being hated  
Hobbies: Reading, listening to opera, practicing using her powers,

Known Family: Jessica Circe (Mother), James Circe (Father)  
Friendships: Bobby, Rogue, Kitty, Piotr, Jubilee  
Romantic Interests: Corey Aldred  
Rivalry: None

Powers: Reality and probability shift. With her reality shift she can alter or create something as well as making something disappear or wiping it from existence entirely (although the latter is extremely exhausting). She can also summon or banish things to alternate realities. With her probability shift she can make unlikely things (such as spontaneous combustion) more likely to happen or make likely things (such as remembering a best friends name) more unlikely.

Weaknesses: Fear for her family, amount of energy required by her power, fear of being alone or hated.

Personality: She is a perky girl who quickly makes friends. She loves life and loves being around people, but deep inside she is terrified that everyone hates her because of her mutation and is extremely afraid of being alone. As a result of these fears she may take romantic relationships too seriously.

Background: The only daughter in an upper middle-class family, Alice was slightly spoiled by her parents. She was the top of her class and an accomplished singer. However, when her mutation arose her life was quickly shattered. Her parents, while they didn't disown her, showed her obvious disdain which hurt her deeply and made her mature quickly. She ran away when she could no longer take it. At Xavier's she tried to forget about her parents and some of the things in that life she no longer considers being hers.


End file.
